One disappointing result of Tuesday's election was the defeat in Troy, MI, of four separate proposals that, if approved, would have avoided the closing of the city's library.
Without another source of funding, the 51-year-old library will close June 30, 2011.
The first proposal, a ten-year, 0.9885-millage failed by only 675 votes, 15,736 to 15,071. The other three measures were defeated by large margins.
"Being director of Troy was my ultimate professional goal," Cathleen Russ, the library's director, told LJ, "because it was my library when I was growing up. I just feel so bad that the place I love so much is going to close."
Funds unlikely to be found Mayor Louise Schilling told the Detroit Free Press that it was unlikely the city council would reconsider funding the library.
"Council's already made a decision with regards to budgetary funds," she said. "We've already looked very carefully at all of the funds."
Troy Citizens United, an antitax group that had campaigned against the ballot measures, is petitioning the city to keep the library open by reallocating money in the budget.
"We can have a library with no new taxes, and that's what the petition drive is doing," group spokeswoman Deborah DeBacker told the Free Press.
Russ, however, does not have much time to wait for a last-minute solution since she must have time to wind down operations. The disposition of the collection will have to be determined; contracts with vendors broken.
"Quite honestly, if there is no money in the budget, does the library actually close at the end of March?" she asked. "I can't imagine checking books out after June 15, because no one will be here to accept them when they are returned."
The library had a huge layoff in June 2010 that cut the staff by 30 percent, and it is now down to 63 employees: six FTES and 57 part-timers, including three full-time librarians and 14 part-timers.
The operating budget was slashed from $3.6 million last year to $2.2 million, and the collections budget went from $775,000 to $425,000.
As LJ has reported, the city of 80,000 has suffered a double whammy from the economic downturn in the Detroit area, as well as the defeat in February of a property tax millage that would have benefited all city agencies, including the library.
A vote against a plan, not the library City Councilor Martin Howrylak told the Daily Tribune the election result was not a rejection of the library.
"The vote doesn't mean the people don't want a library, they just didn't like the plan that was presented to the voters," he told the Tribune.
If the library does close, the only alternative for Troy residents will be to buy a library card from a neighboring community at a cost of $75 to $200, Russ said.
However, the rest of the news around Michigan was not so discouraging for library advocates: nine out of ten other library millages passed:
Belleville: 0.7 for 12 years; Beverly Hills: less than one mill; Dexter: 0.6925 for six years; Eastpointe: 0.1135 for five years; Harper Woods: 1.0 for seven years; Inkster: 2.0 for ten years; Milford: 0.38 for ten years; Northville: 0.2 for five years; and Ypsilanti: 0.38 in perpetuity.
The only measure to fail, besides Troy, was in Bloomfield Hills.
Reader Comments (6)
The council can vote to keep the Library open if they want
to. Since I have lived here (31 yrs) the council has spent
and wasted so much money without thinking of the future. They blame the people that voted the Library down, but two years ago the Mayor said in her speech that a new Library was going to be built. No one even talked about that at the
time. Also how many times has Big Beaver been done over and
wasted money at Rochester and Big Beaver, no one thought about the wasteing of money then. Big Beaver is not a downtown but they try to make it that way. When the people went out to vote against the last tax millage, and it was
defeated because they wouldn't tell the people what the money was going for. They want and want from us but we are
not suppose to ask questions. It is time for a changeing of the guards and maybe it will turn out better. There are three councilpeople that do care about the taxpayers but, not all of the time. Get the old timers out and stay retired and enjoy life. Time to move on.
Posted by Audre on November 5, 2010 08:12:39AM
It should be noted that Audre is a library board member who actively campaigned against the millage, and encouraged Troy residents not to vote for the passage of the library's millage. Despite knowing the truth about a new building (that there are no plans for one), as well as truths regarding budget information, she actively participated in disseminating misinformation and outright lies. What a credit to Troy and the Troy Library board.
Posted by Henry on November 5, 2010 11:32:59AM
It was a sad election, filled with dis-information and dirty
tricks. Let this be a lesson to the uninformed middle that a
devious group (including TCU/Troy Tea Party and Councilman
Martin Howrylak) can easily sway an election,
By the way, Deborah Deb=Backer says here that they told
people that they can have the library with no new taxes.
However, the day after the election Councilman Howy=rylak,
who also said that, said they would probably need a half-
mill tax increase.
Why do people have to lie so much just to kill a library?
http://keeptroystrong.blogspot.com/
Posted by Sharon on November 12, 2010 08:20:40AM
It was a sad election, filled with dis-information and dirty
tricks. Let this be a lesson to the uninformed middle that a
devious group (including TCU/Troy Tea Party and Councilman
Martin Howrylak) can easily sway an election,
By the way, Deborah Deb=Backer says here that they told
people that they can have the library with no new taxes.
However, the day after the election Councilman Howy=rylak,
who also said that, said they would probably need a half-
mill tax increase.
Why do people have to lie so much just to kill a library?
http://keeptroystrong.blogspot.com/
Posted by Sharon on November 12, 2010 08:21:24AM
As I look into what took this library down, I can't help but
feel that Troy is a target of the Tea Party and a huge anti-
tax groundswell. The campaign against this proposal was
loaded with lies and misrepresentations. Please note that
49% of the people of Troy still voted yes, even though they
were being bombarded with propaganda ... propaganda that
only criticizes the city for wasteful spending but never
mentions the severe revenue shortfall precipitated by the
downturn in the economy.
Audre (above) is first and foremost a Martin Howrylak (who
all-out lied in a pre-election letter on the matter)
advocate and consistent council meeting gadfly who delights
in the "wins" the anti-tax crowd is achieving, including the
layoffs at the City. Of course the council can vote to
reopen the budget and keep the library open. But it would
not be anything close to the stellar library it has been and
it would necessitate reductions in police. All to save a
measly few bucks in our wallets. It will cost more to go
buy a library card than it would to have paid the tax.
Posted by Ellen on November 12, 2010 11:50:53AM
Thank you, Henry.
Truth is a rare commodity in Troy these days.
The loudest people have tended to be the most dishonest.
I hope that will change.
Troy has been a well run City. Our taxes are one of the lowest among cities in
Oakland County. We used to enjoy wonderful services. Because of anti-tax
campaigns, those service are quickly falling away.
A petition can't save a library. You can't have what you don't fund. This is
America, not fantasyland. I wanted a library, I was willing to pay for it. Many
trusting people believed the lies of people like Audre and Councilman
Howrylak. He lied to residents about how the millage proposal would be
enacted if approved. I respect people who voted because they don't have
money to put toward a tax increase. I don't respect people who lied to get No
votes.
Posted by Katherine on November 12, 2010 11:43:35AM
