CHARLEVOIX — In the upcoming August primary election, the Charlevoix Public Library is urging residents to support renewing their millage.
The proposal aims to renew operational mileage at a rate of 0.8 mill for a period of 10 years, from 2025 to 2034.
Factories will fund the purchase of physical and digital materials, programs like storytime, facilities and technology costs, staffing costs and more, according to the library’s website.
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At a Charlevoix City Council meeting on April 1, library director Ryan Deery said, “The requested amount represents 45 percent of the library’s operating funds.”
If approved, library officials said the 0.8 mills will result in lower taxes due to the expiring bond with the city that will not be renewed. The average homeowner will save $62 annually by paying an average of $135 for a $220,000 home, which is the median home value for Charlevoix County.
Also at the April 1 meeting, Deery emphasized how many people in the community use the library.
“There are more than 90,000 annual visitors to our historic facilities – 85,000 items borrowed annually, 9,000 library program participants each year, and 50,000 annual users of public Wi-Fi and computers,” he said.
The library also reported that more than 9,400 participants attended one of its 370 classes and programs offered last year and its community meeting rooms were used more than 725 times.
Library staff answered more than 16,000 questions last year and more than 6,200 people used the library’s computers.
The voting language is as follows:
The Charlevoix Public Library, Charlevoix County, Michigan, shall be authorized to charge annually an amount not to exceed 0.80 million ($0.80 for each $1,000 of taxable value), of which 0.6143 million is a renewal of the millage rate expiring in 2024 and 0.1857 mill is a new additional millage, against all taxable property within the Charlevoix Public Library district for a period of 10 years, 2025 to 2034, inclusive, with the purpose of providing funds for all district library purposes authorized by law? The estimated revenue that the Charlevoix Public Library will collect in the first year of billing (2025) if the millage is approved and billed by the library is approximately $845,000. By law, a portion of millage revenue may be subject to capture by the Charlevoix County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.
For more information visit charlevoixlibrary.org.
– Contact reporter Annie Doyle at (231) 675-0099 and adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com
This article originally appeared in The Petoskey News-Review: Charlevoix Public Library seeks millage renewal in August election
