Troy Public Library May Get a Second Chance

The Troy Public Library, MI, has received a reprieve.

The City Council decided late Monday night to keep the library, which had been slated for closure on May 1, open at least until May 16, when the city must approve a budget for FY12, the Detroit Free Press reported.

One factor weighing on the council's deliberations was a citywide survey of 400 residents conducted March 29-April 3 by Lansing-based polling firm Target Insyght. The poll results, announced at Monday's meeting, showed that 72 percent of respondents said library operations should increase or stay the same and 32 percent said it was the most important issue facing the city, the highest response for any issue.

"Because the council will be discussing funding to keep the library open, there was consensus on council that the library should not proceed with closing on May 1," Cathy Russ, the library's director, told LJ. "To make a long story short, at the City Council meeting on Monday, one of the city councilwomen [Robin Beltramini] proposed a plan to fund the library for $1.6 million ... for the 2011-2012 budget year which begins July 1. The Council decided to revisit the 2011-2012 budget (scheduled to be approved on May 9 or 16) and see if funds could be found to support the library," she said. Budget hearings begin on April 25 and continue May 2 and May 9.

But Russ cautioned that the library may still close. The current budget, including collections, is $2.7 million. Russ said that she took Beltramini's proposal to mean that it would be less expensive to keep the library open at a minimum funding level rather than to close it and then reopen it.

The library lost four millage proposals in November that were key to its financial viability.

The Detroit News reported that 300 residents attended the meeting Monday to support the library.

"I have mixed feelings. I'm happy for the postponement, but I'm waiting for the long-term solution," Susan Simonte Martin, a member of Troy Residents Unified for a Strong Troy, told the News. "I am not against raising millages to sustain our city."<