YES! 3,735 people have Dorr Library cards. This does not represent children, spouses or other family members that share one card.

Over 26,146 items were checked out last year including books, magazines, DVDs and audiobooks.

Our digital collection is also popular. This past year we have had 6,162 items check out from Overdrive with 121 items having a hold list of patrons. There have been 247 checkouts of eAudio items from RB Digital and 25 ePeriodical checkouts.

We had classes twice a week which were very popular. When our funding was cut in August, we were only able to offer one class a week and in January we began adding a small charge to the programs. They are still decently attended, but it is too early to tell how the charges will affect attendance.

Millage: The library is primarily funded by local property taxes. Our .2951 millage makes about 39% of our current budget.

Penal Fines: The library’s next highest contributor for income is local penal fines. This source of income has been steadily decreasing over the years and many libraries can no longer rely on it as a significant source of funding.

Township Appropriation: The township supplements the library’s income by a little over 25%. This helps us provide our current level of services to the public.

WHAT THE BALLOT WILL SAY FOR THE 2020 MILLAGE AND WHAT IT MEANS.

LIBRARY MILLAGE PROPOSAL: Ballot Language

Shall the tax limitation on all taxable property within Dorr Township, Allegan County, Michigan, be increased and the Township be authorized to levy a millage in an amount not to exceed .60 mill ($.60 on each $1,000 of taxable value), of which .2951 mill is a renewal of the millage rate that expired in 2019 and .3049 mill is new additional millage, for ten (10) years, 2020 to 2029 inclusive, to provide funds for operating, maintaining and equipping the Dorr Township Library and for all other library purposes authorized by law? The estimate of the revenue the Township will collect in the first year of levy (2020) if the millage is approved and levied by the Township is approximately $166,000.

This means that the library will be asking for a total new millage of .6 mills. This is a renewal of our expired .2951 and an increase of .3049. These funds will be used for library operations, to return eliminated services and to help preserve future services.

WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE LIBRARY SINCE THE LAST MILLAGE PASSED.

The last library millage passed 10 years ago and has expired as of December 2019. That millage was a .3 but was reduced to .2951 by the Headlee Amendment. A lot has changed in the 10 years since that millage was passed. Movies offered by the library are no longer on VHS but rather on DVD and Blu-ray, digital services such as Libby and Overdrive are now offered, the library now provides access to databases as well as Ancestry and Gale Courses, and the demand for high speed and wireless internet has increased. Those are only a few of the larger changes that have occurred over the past decade. In order to maintain already offered services and to meet the changing needs of our community, the library is asking for a .6 millage on the March 2020 ballot.