Get ready to vote on a $29.9 million plan that includes building a new library in downtown Franklin.

The Johnson County Public Library board voted unanimously Tuesday to schedule a May referendum on the new branch.

Voters would decide whether to pay more in taxes for a project that involves building a library and two-story parking garage downtown, turning the existing Franklin branch into a new library headquarters and renovating the White River Township branch.

Board members said a new Franklin library would solve the space crunch at the current branch, help build up the downtown and serve as a community hub. Vice president Ray Jones said the countywide district should build a new Franklin library while construction prices were still low, since the economy was showing signs of recovering.

“I see this as an investment in the future,” he said. “We should invest in the future because we’ll never get the library built any cheaper than now. It will be hard on some but would be harder down the road.”

The project is estimated to cost the owner of a $142,200 home $26.64 more in property taxes per year. The increased taxes would be paid by most county residents, except those who live in the Greenwood and Edinburgh library districts.