The Dorr Township Library request for a one-mill levy for 10 years was defeated at the polls Tuesday by a count of 629 to 529.
The results, a margin of 54 to 46 percent, leave the Library Board scrambling for some way to keep the facility open because the current 0.289 authorized millage will expire in December. The Township Board has helped with a $50,000 stipend and other sources of revenue include fines and grants.
Library Board President Rachel Vote said, “I am sad and frustrated that the township residents did not support this millage. I firmly believe that the library is an essential part of the community and stand behind our decision to request the funding needed to continue offering the materials, services, and programming the patrons need.
“The board, along with the library director, have some difficult decisions to make on how to continue to operate the library on drastically limited funds. We will be seeking input from the public to determine what funding they are willing to allow.”
There has been no talk about seeking another millage, Vote added, because the focus has been entirely on the Aug. 6 election. If local library officials want to get a proposal on the November they would have to hurry because there is little time to have that done.
The Library Board has been grappling with economic issues in the wake of the defeat of a millage request in August 2018, when voters turned down a request for a levy of 0.798 mill for 10 years, with all but a half mill being a renewal.
The proposal lost 1,070 to 634 a year ago and would have provided about $212,000 for operations and programs.
Dorr Township Treasurer Jim Martin reported that just over 21 percent of the registered voters in the township voted.
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