ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.
”Are you threatening me? Why ya stupid toad! I ought to beat your brain out!” — Rocky Rococo in “The Adventures of Nick Danger, Third Eye.”
Some seem unsettled by the Dorr Township Library Board’s promise to close its doors at the end of this year if a millage request is not approved. It’s not a threat, it’s a promise.
It’s like your doctor telling you if you don’t quit smoking you will have a premature death. It’s unpleasant, but it must be said.
The Dorr Township Board meeting last Thursday evening featured discussion of the library’s request in the March 10 election for 0.6 mill for 10 years for operations. The Library Board’s requests for 0.89 mill in 2018 and one mill last August both were turned away by voters.
Since then the Library Board has agreed to do what it was told to do — scale back on the amount requested and don’t spend any public tax dollars on having the election a week from Tuesday.
So the one mill has been scaled back by nearly a half and library officials have reported the costs of the election have been absorbed by the Friends of the Library and by private donations.
The only thing left is for voters to approve the proposal to assure the library remains open.
It wasn’t that simple Thursday night. Township Trustee John Tuinstra, who actively campaigned against the request last year by circulating flyers, trotted out yet again his tiresome advice, which most surely would result in the library going belly up in a short time.
Tuinstra, in his customary corn pone, fiddle faddle argument, told library officials they should split the request into two parts by asking for a renewal of the old 0.289 levy and then ask for only a slight increase of perhaps 0.2.
First of all, the 0.6 mill is already on the printed ballot and cannot be changed. Second, his plan enables naysayers to defeat the second proposal with a conscience clearing “yes” vote on the renewal.
The result would be a library inadequately funded and eventually its demise.
Zoning Board of Appeals member Chandler Stanton asked if the library could scale down its hours and make personnel cuts. I don’t know where he’s been over the last several months, but that already has been done.
The only sensible way to resolve the unpleasant possibility of a local library closing is to support the millage request in the March 10 presidential primary.
Mr. Editor,
It appears to me, now an outsider, but with much love for the libraries of northeastern Allegan County, that this might be an opportunity for the Henika Library Board to investigate the possibility of expanding their library district to include Dorr Township. I cannot speak to the financial viability of an idea like this, but usually, when existing services are expanded rather than having two like agencies providing redundant services, there can be significant cost savings by consolidating the administrations, and, therefore, the collections and services of the two, to serve a larger district.
It might be something to consider.
Just my two cents.
The issue of the library millage is critical for our community, and something I feel very strongly about. Any community that wants to thrive and intends to continue to attract young families absolutely must have an active, appropriately-funded library. The library has had to reduce hours of operation and had to make the heart-breaking decision to reduce staff, and they’ve frozen their collections – something that has serious long-term consequences for patrons. This is a serious issue for Dorr citizens and I’m urging everyone to vote yes on this reduced, extremely reasonable millage request. Literacy matters, and community is important. Those things are no laughing matter.
That said, the editor has a delightful way with words. If the millage fails, perhaps we can find the funds to update our Welcome signs. I’m thinking “Welcome to Dorr: We have lots of corn pone fiddle faddle (but no library).”