Grosse Pointe Public Library Delays Millage Request to February

Among the campaign signs dotting yards throughout the Grosse Pointes, one is seemingly missing this political season: the millage.

The trustees --some spoke and appeared before the councils twice--earlier this year emphasizing the serious financial hardship the organization is experiencing due to dropping property values.

Library Board President Brian Garves told Patch this week the board is opting to seek the millage in February rather than in two weeks because the campaign was not quite as organized as it should have been.

The board also received additional research information late in the summer from focus groups. The groups were organized by a man assisting the campaign to gather information about how voters--library users and non-users--felt about the possible millage request, Garves said.

The results of the focus groups came in a bit later than the board had anticipated and rather than risk running a disorganized campaign that would appear unprofessional or problematic, Garves said they decided to delay it.

According to the board minutes, the trustees voted down the millage proposal for the November ballot in a 4-3 vote in late August. Just one month earlier, however, the board voted 7-0 to seek the 0.7 mills for a period of eight years on the November ballot. The board discussed to some degree the length of time for the request at the July meeting, ultimately altering the first motion from 10 to eight years.

Trustees Robert Klacza, John Minnis and Jenny Nolan voted in favor of keeping the millage request on the November ballot, believing the public would have responded well to it.

Garves said the eight year figure was determined as a result of the feedback in the focus groups, who shared that requesting a millage for many more years is not favorable to voters.

In eight years, Garves said the millage can be reviewed and if it is still necessary, the board can ask for its continuation and use the elapsed time to show their fiscal responsibilty with the funds. Ideally, Garves said, that is enough time for the economy and therefore the housing market to rebound that would stop the dwindling of the budget.

Originally, the trustees had presented plans to each of the city councils outlining the request for an 18-year period, which is when the bond service will be paid off.

The libraries have essentially trimmed to the bone without too much compromising of services at this point and if the millage is not approved, the libraries will have to make serious changes that will impace services, Garves said. All the more reason, he said, to have an organized campaign to ensure voters understand what the library system is asking. 

It's been asked of him numerous times, why are libraries even necessary when there is Google, he said. Not only is this question not recognizing the expertise a librarian can share but they are also not recognizing that others may be seeking that assistance.

In September, Grosse Pointe librarians answered about 9,000 reference questions--the highest number the system has experienced in one month, Garves said, noting it works out to be 300 reference questions a day.

"It's important to have that resource for our community," he said, explaining those 9,000 questions may have otherwise gone unanswered.

The trustees, Garves said, are still asking for the public's support--just 90 days later.