Matthew Patsel, Library Director
CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION NO. 8035 APPROVING THE ANNUAL LIBRARY SPECIAL TAX REPORT AND AUTHORIZING THE COLLECTION OF THE TAX AT THE FISCAL YEAR 2026-2027 RATES
It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Adopt Resolution No. 8035 (Attachment No.1) approving the Library Special Tax Annual Report; and
2. Authorize the collection of the Tax by the County of Los Angeles at the rates established for Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
The City of South Pasadena levies an annual Library Special Tax, established by voter approval, to provide funding for certain library services. The City currently contracts with NBS Government Finance Group (“NBS”) to prepare an Annual Report and the tax levy listing for the Library Special Tax (“Tax”). NBS submits the levy list to the County of Los Angeles Department of the Auditor-Controller (“County”), which collects the taxes on the City’s behalf. The annual report presents the Tax rates for the new Fiscal Year, and the total amount of the levy, which in Fiscal Year 2026-2027 is $448,812.20, an increase of $14,457.04 over Fiscal Year 2025-2026.
On June 7, 1994, South Pasadena voters established the City of South Pasadena’s Library Special Tax. The Tax was renewed by voters in 1999, 2005, 2009, and in 2015, when an annual Consumer Price Index-based increase to the Tax rates was also approved. On November 8, 2022, voters again extended the Tax, maintaining the annual CPI-based increase, and approving the Tax to be levied annually until terminated by a majority vote of the electorate in South Pasadena.
Until the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year, the Tax rates were fixed at the amount approved by voters in 1994. At the November 3, 2015, General Election, South Pasadena voters approved setting a new base Tax amount adjusted for inflation, to be increased each year going forward based on any annual increase of the June Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area All Urban Consumers Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The Fiscal Year 2016-2017 new base rates ranged from $16.00 to $128.00, depending on the property’s buildable square footage (single family residential), the size of the parcel (non-residential), or number of units (multi-family residential). The Tax has increased every year since then, based on the CPI-U.
Collection of the Library Special Tax is contingent upon the City adopting an operating budget for the Library Department that meets or exceeds the minimum “Required Amount” set by Section 2.89-5(b)(1) of the South Pasadena Municipal Code (SPMC). The Required Amount must be adequate to provide for all the elements of a “foundation program” of library services, as defined by the State of California Education Code Section 18015. The Required Amount is calculated each year by applying any annual increase of the June CPI-U to the prior year’s Required Amount, beginning with an initial base Required Amount in Fiscal Year 1994-1995 of $760,529.00.
As described in Section 2.89-2 of the Municipal Code, the following property types and property owners are exempt from the Tax: Vacant properties, parcels owned by governmental agencies, houses of worship or charitable service organizations which qualify for an exemption from ad valorem taxation under California Law, and individual property owners that have income, adjusted for family size, at or below eighty percent of the area median income.
The City engaged NBS Government Finance Group to calculate the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Special Tax rates, prepare and submit the Tax levy listing to the County, and prepare an Annual Report (Exhibit “A” to the Resolution). The levy was submitted by NBS by the August 10, 2026, deadline. The County has prepared a new tax roll that includes direct assessments submitted by taxing agencies, which includes South Pasadena. The following summarizes Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Library Special Tax information.
CPI-U
The June 2026 CPI-U number was released in July 2026 by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number (354.325), represents an increase of 3.29% over the prior year’s CPI-U.
Levy and Revenue
The total levy amount reported to the County is $448,812.20, which is $14,457.04 more than the prior Fiscal Year’s levy. The City’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Adopted Budget projected Library Special Tax revenue in the amount of $444,950.00. This estimate was made prior to the publication of the June 2026 CPI-U number. The tax roll submitted to the County exceeds the budget by $3,862.00.
Tax Rates
After applying the 3.29% CPI-U increase, the Tax rates submitted to the County range from $22.69 to $181.56, depending on type and/or size of property. The following table shows the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Tax rates and the amount they increased over the prior fiscal year.
| Land Use | Prior FY Tax Rate | FY 2025-2026 Tax Rate | Tax Rate Increase | Basis |
| SFRC1 <=2,000 SF | $43.94 | $45.38 | $1.44 | Per Dwelling Unit |
| SFRC 2,001 to <=4,000 SF | $65.91 | $68.08 | $2.17 | Per Dwelling Unit |
| SFRC >4,000 SF | $87.88 | $90.78 | $2.90 | Per Dwelling Unit |
| MFR2 | $21.97 | $22.69 | $0.72 | Per Dwelling Unit |
| NR3 <=1/4 acre lot | $43.94 | $45.38 | $1.44 | Per Parcel |
| NR >1/4 to <= 1/2 acre lot | $87.88 | $90.78 | $2.90 | Per Parcel |
| NR >1/2 to <= 3/4 acre lot | $131.83 | $136.16 | $4.33 | Per Parcel |
| NR >3/4 acre lot | $175.77 | $181.56 | $5.79 | Per Parcel |
1SFRC=Single-Family Residence/Condo
2MFR=Multi-Family Residence
3NR=Non-Residential
For Fiscal Year 2026-2027, the Required Amount that the City must allocate to the Library Department’s budget in order to collect the Special Tax must equal or exceed $1,740,790.94. The City’s Adopted Budget for the Library is $2,841,726.00, which exceeds the Required Amount by more than one million dollars, therefore the City has met the requirement to allow for the collection of the Tax in Fiscal Year 2026-2027. The Library Special Tax revenue will provide approximately 15.79% of the Library’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 operating budget.
The Library Board of Trustees was informed of the Special Tax levy for 2026-2027 via email on September 24th, 2026. The Board is not required to take any action related to this matter.