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 oughta beat your brain out.” — Rocky Rococco in “Nick Danger, Third Eye.”

After the Dorr Township Library’s second millage defeat last August, the Library Board had to go back to the drawing board. The director and board members came up with a plan with two major changes: Reduce the asking price from a mill to 0.6 mill and have the vote during the March 10 presidential primary rather than wait until August.

The first of the two is likely to have a positive impact. The latter has met some criticism, with some skeptics accusing library officials of trying to sneak the proposal past an unwary public more interested in nominating presidential candidates.

Since then I have seen and heard plenty of good reasons for having the special millage election in March rather than in the August primary.

1. The presidential primary in Dorr gives voters just two questions for their consideration — the Democratic or Republican presidential nominee and the 0.6-mill levy for the library. The August primary would include a sea of other candidates and issues, so the levy issue could be overlooked in a crowded ballot.
2. The “Sword of Damocles” concept. In ancient Greece, the sword was symbolic of something horrible hanging over your head, something that had to be eliminated as soon as possible. By deciding the library question as early as March, library officials would be able to spend more than nine months making plans for hours and programs, knowing what money will be available at end of 2020.
3. If the request is defeated again on March 10, it would allow the Library Board go back to the drawing board again to craft another proposal in the August primary.
4. Library officials are not sugar coating this crisis. The funding already ran out Dec. 31, 2019, and if the millage is defeated yet again, more cutbacks would be required, perhaps even closure of the facility.

This is not just a threat, it’s a promise. It is the duty of the Library Board and Director to inform voters what will happen if the request doesn’t pass.

So while there was some controversy last fall when library officials decided to come back with a new request on March 10, it seems to me this indeed was the most sensible option. So now it’s up to voters in less than two month to decide whether or not they want a library at all.