Multnomah County’s library system may be about to turn a new chapter.

County commissioners face a deadline next week if they choose to put a new library district before voters in November.

A district with its own power to collect property taxes would provide permanent and stable funding for the popular library system, replacing a series of short-term property tax levies that require periodic voter approval.

A district also would free up cash in the county general fund that has been devoted to libraries, to supplement the short-term levies.

After conducting an online survey and a series of public listening sessions, commissioners will hold a final public hearing on the idea at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 31, in the board room at county headquarters, 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd.

Commissioners also reserved time on their Thursday, Aug. 2, agenda for a possible vote to put the library district on the November ballot.

There’s little doubt commissioners like the idea because of the stability it gives to libraries and county finances. But there’s concern that voters might balk at raising property taxes while the economy is so weak. One alternative is to shoot for the November 2014 ballot instead.

The current library levy, overwhelmingly renewed by voters in May for another three years, costs property owners a maximum of 89 cents for every $1,000 in property value. That’s $133 for a home assessed at the median value of $150,000.

A library district could cost up to $1.22 in property taxes for every $1,000 in assessed value, or $183 for the owners of the same home.

County commissioners also are wary of potential opposition from city of Portland leaders and interest groups, which could sway voters.

That’s because raising property taxes for libraries will reduce property taxes for the city, due to caps that voters approved in a series of 1990s tax-limitation initiatives. The caps cause individual property tax bills in Portland to be “compressed” by varying degrees.

The result: The city of Portland could lose an estimated $7 million in property taxes next year if the library district passes.

Multnomah County’s property tax collections also would shrink about $6 million for the same reason. But the county general fund comes out ahead because it no longer would be on the hook for $15 million a year used to supplement the temporary library levy.

Taxes raised by the city of Gresham would be unaffected by the library district.