East Lansing voters will decide on Election Day whether to renew their public library system millage.
The November ballot proposal calls for a renewal of up to .997 mills, or 99.7 cents per $1,000 of a property owner’s taxable value, for the next 10 years.
That means the owner of a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000 would pay about $50 per year to support the East Lansing Public Library’s operating expenses.
Spokesperson Gabby Kindig says the millage accounts for a substantial part of the library’s budget.
“Unfortunately, if it does not pass, we’re going to have to reduce programs, services and staff. So, it would be an impact on our operating costs and what we can work with,” Kindig said.
Kindig says during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ELPL switched to more virtual services to continue to meet the community’s needs.
“That being said, we were still operating on the millage that’s about to expire, so we did have our full budget,” she added. “So, if the millage did not pass, that would still reduce our capacity for services.”
