As of press time Thursday, the King County Library System’s property tax levy was passing with 115,269 (51.75% percent) voting yes and 107,477 (48.25 percent) voting no, according to the King County Elections Web site.

Proposition 1 asks voters to approve a property tax levy lid lift for one year. Proposition 1 seeks to restore the tax levy rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2011. If Proposition 1 passes, KCLS will be able to maintain its current level of services at all 44 libraries. The measure’s failure would lead to budget cuts between 10 percent and 15 percent across the organization, according to KCLS, which receives 96 percent of its operating revenue from property taxes. The cuts could results in reduced maintenance of facilities, reduced availability of computers and increased wait times for popular titles, KCLS said.

A homeowner would pay an increase of about $32 on a home assessed at $400,000 to restore the library property tax levy rate to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Note: A levy lid lift is for operations, and a capital bond measure is for the building of facilities and other infrastructure.

The voter’s pamphlet contains a statement against Proposition 1. The statement calls the proposal a burden to taxpayers and that the proposal covers costly nonessentials including “entertainment diversions.”