Construction of Key Biscayne’s two-story, 20,000-square-foot library is still proceeding, despite recent talk of how Amendment 3 (if it survives a 60% favorable vote in November) could mightily chop into public library funding.
Lydia Lopez, Director of the Miami-Dade Public Library System, told Islander News this week that the show goes on.
“The new Key Biscayne Branch Library project is currently budgeted and moving forward as planned,” she said, responding to some questions. “Construction is underway and we do not anticipate any interruption to the project if Amendment 3 passes. The new branch is expected to be completed in 2028.”
Lydia Lopez, Director of the Miami-Dade Public Library System.
(Photo Courtesy: Library Journal)
Amendment 3, now titled “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-Homesteaded Property Assessments” on the Nov. 3 ballot, calls for reduced homestead property taxes, but keeps the public-school tax in play.
“The primary source of funding for the Miami-Dade Public Library System is the Library Taxing District, which is funded through property taxes,” Lopez explained. “If Amendment 3 passes, it would affect future Library System funding (starting in 2027).”
According to Marylynne Schwartz, president of the nonprofit Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library who delivered an update to the project during a recent Village Council meeting, told reporters her group estimates $20 million to be cut from the library system’s budget should Amendment 3 pass.
Established in 1974 by a coalition of influential South Floridians, the Friends group has spent more than five decades advocating for library funding, preventing branch closures and enriching community engagement across Miami-Dade County.
“I’m terrified,” Schwartz said earlier this summer. “At a library level, this threat is absolutely existential.”
Marylynne Schwartz, president of Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library.
(Photo Courtesy: LinkedIn)
Lopez outlined what those impacts could be.
“Potential impacts would likely include reductions in library hours, library collections (including books and digital materials), technology resources, essential programs and services, maintenance and improvements to existing libraries and future construction or renovation projects needed to modernize library spaces, expand access to technology, and better serve the growing needs of Miami-Dade County residents.”
Amendment 3 would also affect funding for other public library systems, too.
For example, at the DeLand Regional Library, Volusia County Community Services Director Dr. Brad Burbaugh told reporters that, “About 98% of the budget from our library system comes from property tax.”
Groundbreaking for the new Key Biscayne library took place May 26 and work on the structure is evident while driving past 299 Crandon Boulevard.
Meanwhile, a temporary library is being housed in Suite 101 of the Key Colony Plaza at 200 Crandon Boulevard.
The previous library opened on Jan. 12, 1985, after Key Biscayne residents successfully petitioned the Miami-Dade County Commission to replace the island’s twice-weekly bookmobile service with a permanent branch library.
For more information and project renderings, visit mdpls.org/KBBranchDesign.