Taxpayers must learn, as library officials already know, that there is a big difference between capital funding and operating costs.

While the district can afford to build a new facility of the two new branch libraries it has planned, tax caps will take a $300,000 bite out of the library's budget. That makes it more difficult to operate the existing branches at the current levels of service. Adding another library would make that job even tougher.

Back when property taxes weren't a contentious issue, the library district planned to build at branch at the intersection of county roads 100 South and 500 West in Porter Township and at 450 East and U.S. 6 in Jackson Township. That land was purchased in 1996.

Porter County Library Director Jim Cline said last week the library district plans to use cash, rather than borrowing money, to build the new libraries.

Instead of borrowing money and paying interest, the library district is saving money and earning interest. That aversion to incurring massive debt must be praised.

The decision to cautiously wait for the property tax turmoil to be settled before building another library is worthy of admiration, too.

But there's one other factor that should prompt a delay.

The Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform has urged consolidation of library districts to have just one per county. Porter County has two library districts -- Westchester Township and the rest of Porter County.

Will the Indiana General Assembly follow the commission's recommendation and force the two districts to merge? The commission's report came out late in 2007. The General Assembly is just now deliberating the implementation of the rest of the 27 recommendations.

The merger of the two library districts would have an impact on operating costs as well. Before building in Porter and Jackson townships, the Porter County library district should wait for the outcome of that merger discussion.

Don't rule out the expansion and sell off the land, but don't be in a hurry to build, either.