Springfield Township Library Millage Addition

To levy in perpetuity an amount not to exceed .5 mill, in addition to previously approved millage, to provide funds for operational expenses necessary to maintain the Springfield Township Library.
Springfield Twp. library seeks to add funds

First published on July 19, 2006

BY PAUL KAMPE

Clarkston News Staff Writer

While two of the three millages filling the ballot for Springfield Township voters are up for renewal, the township library is going for 0.5 mill addition is expected to raise nearly $339,000 within one year if accepted by voters.

The Library Yes Committee made material available at the reference desk of the library breaking down the different funding percentages of surrounding communities. Springfield Township receives $300,000 annually with the current millage that is roughly 0.4181 in perpetuity, approved in 1990, Library Director Cathy Forst said.

‘We’re running on the same budget as it was in the old building,? Forst said.

She added the library needs the money for operational costs, new materials, new technology and funding for staff. The library currently has 10 employees, Forst said, possibly fewest employees of any library in Oakland County. She added that a staffing study showed the library should have at least two more people on staff.

The committee said that circulation has more than doubled in the last five years, totaling more than 112,000 items in 2005 and that membership has kept pace, also doubling in that time span.

The 0.5 mill would also be in perpetuity, with a price tag of roughly $50 for a homeowner with a home that has a taxable value of $100,000. Under the Headlee rollback, the current millage was scaled back from the original amount of 0.5 mills (equal to $0.50 for every $1,000 of taxable value in this case).

The material furnished by the committee states that Brandon Township, which serves roughly the same population and a circulation of more than 1,000 fewer items, receives more than three times as much in annual funding. Milford Township was also cited for its annual $1.06 million library budget while serving nearly 2,000 more residents than Springfield, according to the millage brochure.

Forst said typically funds for new books are exhausted by August. In addition, the county chips in additional monies from its general fund, roughly $75,000 per year.

‘We’re hoping to get our message out there,? Forst said. ‘We’re trying to show people that we need this millage.?

Other millages on the ballots include fire and police millage renewals. The fire millage renewal is for 1 mill over a 10-year period starting in 2007 and is expected to generate around $678,000 the inaugural year.

The police millage renewal is slated for a 1.5 mill tax to begin in 2008 and run for 10 years also. It is expected to generate more than $1 million in its first year.