Voters OK levy for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH,None — Voters approved an extra property tax levy expected to raise $3.25 million a year for the cash-strapped Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.
  
The library and its 19 branches have suffered from budget cutbacks. The library system gets most of its $3.9 million in government subsidies from the state, though it also received $18.1 million this year from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, which doles out some of the county's 1-percent sales tax to arts groups, libraries, parks and other "regional assets."
  
The library considered closing four branches in 2009 but kept them open with stopgap funding from the city meant to buy time until more money could be found.
 
City residents will pay an extra 0.25 mill in property taxes -- or about $25 annually for a house worth $100,000 -- under the new tax approved Tuesday.

WPXI