WARREN - The Warren-Trumbull County Public Library plans to appeal its funding for 2013.
The library board voted Thursday to challenge the decision by the Trumbull County Budget Commission to maintain Warren's 50 percent local cut of the Public Library Fund for 2013.
The Warren system claimed to the commission it needed 59.4 percent of $6.6 million available locally next year from the state.
Its appeal will go to the Ohio Board of Tax Appeals in Columbus.
The budget commission consists of Auditor Adrian Biviano, Treasurer Sam Lamancusa and Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.
"This distribution allocates significantly less per person for patrons in the county district library, which seems greatly out of balance. We serve about 70 percent of the county but we are receiving only 50 percent of the funds," Franklin Manios, Warren system board president, said in a release.
The Warren system's request drew objections from the Bristol Public Library and Kinsman Free Public Library, who argued any loss from the state pot would put their existence at risk.
In addition to Bristol and Kinsman, the other county libraries are Girard Free Library, Hubbard Public Library, McKinley Memorial Library and the Newton Falls Public Library.
After Warren gets its 50 percent, what's left over is split between the rest: McKinley Memorial Library, 12.5 percent; Girard Free Library and Hubbard Public Library, 9.6 percent; Newton Falls Public Library, 7.4 percent; Kinsman, 6.1 percent; and Bristol, 4.7 percent.
In real numbers, the distribution for 2013 would allocate $106.04 per person for library service in Bristol; $62.41 in Kinsman; $58.06 in Girard; $55.70 in Newton Falls; $47.20 in Hubbard; $43.40 in Niles; and $23.15 for the remainder of the people of Trumbull County served by the Warren system.
The Public Library Fund distributes 1.97 percent of the state's total tax revenue to Ohio's 88 counties to fund library services.