ST. GEORGE - The City of St. George currently has one library within city limits, and another about 400 to 500 feet outside city limits.

A member of the council is proposing that the city create its own library system if the East Baton Rouge Parish Library millage fails at the end of this month.

"The goal was to be a proactive government and evaluate what's currently in place, and be proactive about planning, in case the vote is no, that we have a step and a path forward, and to start telling citizens kind of a little bit about what that path looks like, " St. George Mayor Pro-Tem, Andrew Murrell, said.

But almost every member of the community speaking on the proposed library system during Tuesday's council meeting was in opposition.

"I don't care if it's not intended to go into effect until the library tax fails. It's creating a danger that the library tax will fail, because voters are going to see it as a money grab of library money by St. George," one resident said.

Murrell says the city of St. George contributes around $17 million a year to the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System through millages.

If the city were to move forward with creating its own library system, Murrell says St. George would put its own millage on a ballot strictly for the library within the city limits. He says it would bring about $8 or $9 million dollars in, with only 4.5 million needed to run the Jones Creek library branch.

"At this point, it's just hypotheticals. I know what it costs to run a library that is robust. I know what it costs to offer those digital services," East Baton Rouge Parish Assistant Library Director Mary Stein said.

Stein says she was interested in hearing the council's proposal, but says she is concerned about how this may impact the upcoming election.

"Since last Tuesday, people are calling, 'wait, is this a different election? 'I should vote against this?' It's just all complicated and complex, and people are already misunderstanding," Stein said.

The council deferred voting on creating its own library system until after the Jun. 27 election.