OGDEN — Debate over whether to spend up to $30 million for a new library in Weber County, possibly via a property tax hike, is coming to a head.

Since last spring, the debate over whether to build a sixth Weber County Library System facility — an on-and-off topic over the years — has increased. Now, Weber County officials are facing a deadline of Aug. 16 to decide whether to hold a hearing later this year on boosting taxes to help pay for the facility, which would potentially be built in Farr West. That would hardly be the last step in the process, and officials could even delay a decision until after Aug. 16, though waiting would trigger additional costs.

Either way, the discussion is moving forward and the future of the plans is coming into sharper focus. Weber County Commissioners debated the issue at a meeting Monday, with Commissioner Gage Froerer, for one, indicating he wouldn’t vote to increase taxes for a new library.

“I’m not in favor of tax increases unless we absolutely need them,” said Froerer, expressing support only for a tax hike to cover the cost of bolstering flood control efforts, a totally different matter altogether. The county, he noted, has tried to steer clear of debt and he’d be OK with a hike for a new library only if voters approve the increase, as they did in 2013, when a $45 million library bond initiative passed public muster.

Commissioners Jim Harvey and Scott Jenkins were more circumspect on the issue, though Froerer expects a decision on whether to hold a hearing by Aug. 16, a deadline spelled out in state law. Details on the proposed hike would have to be pinpointed by Oct. 19 and a hearing, when the public would be able to sound off, would follow, possibly on Nov. 23. After that, if the process moves forward, officials would decide if they want to boost taxes and the increase, if approved, would show up on 2022 property tax bills, according to Scott Parke. He’s the Weber County comptroller.

Per Parke’s calculations, if the county bonded for a $30 million facility, taxes would need to be boosted enough to generate an extra $3.5 million per year. That would cover estimated yearly bond costs of $2 million and operational costs of $1.5 million.

County Treasurer John Bond said at Monday’s meeting that the library, to serve the growing western and northwestern part of the county, would likely come in at around $28 million.

Jenkins noted the urgency of coming to a consensus on the matter. If leaders don’t act soon, they might lose access to a proposed library site in Farr West that the city has said it would donate for the cause. The proposed location is a city-owned field along 2700 North in Farr West, north of Wahlquist Junior High School.

Similarly, members of the Weber County Library Board of Trustees are anxious for direction from county commissioners, according to Parke. He said they’d like to start getting word out about the tax plans during the Weber County Fair, set to go from Aug. 11-14.

If officials wait until after Aug. 16 to decide whether to hold a hearing on a tax increase, they’d have to cover the cost of a special mailing to get word out to the public, per state rules.

Per a timeline discussed at the June 29 meeting of the library board, the project would have to be bid by late 2022 or early 2023, with work following soon thereafter to assure current cost estimates. The new facility, according to that timeline, would be done by January 2025, according to draft minutes from that meeting.

The new library would measure around 48,000 square feet, per the current plans. That’s larger than the Pleasant Valley Branch in Washington Terrace, measuring 33,600 square feet, but smaller than the Southwest Branch in Roy, measuring 59,098 square feet, excluding administrative areas.