Library to Ask Voters for Increased Operating Tax

In an effort to avoid service cuts, will ask voters for a 0.3 mill tax increase in the May election, Clawson officials said Tuesday.

The 1-mill tax the city assessed in 2005 is not enough to cover the $478,000 operating budget for the library and city can't continue to supplement funding without cutting more services, City Manager Mark Pollock said. Plummeting taxable values for the city have caused the 1 mill to generate less money each year. Before the housing market meltdown, taxable values for the city were about $405 million in 2008, Pollock said. Now values have dropped to $325 million.

The 1-mill tax is shrinking each year and Pollock said he expects the amount generated by the levy to fall to about $325,000 next year. In the fiscal year ending in 2009, it generated about $384,000.

“We are just trying to make the library more self-sufficient," Pollock said. “You get to the point where you cut pretty much everything you can.”

The library had major renovations completed last year thanks to a $1.5 million bond proposal voters passed in 2009. Pollock said the library did not supplement the updates with operating tax money.

The 0.3 mill tax increase would fund the $90,000-$100,000 the library needs to continue its services. If voters pass the millage, it will cost the average taxpayer an additional $16.30 each year. That calculation is based on an average assessment value of about $100,000 for Clawson homeowners, Pollock said.

Pollock said he explored several options with the library board before deciding last week to ask voters for additional funding. He said the city is already planning for layoffs, pay cuts and cut services such as leaf pickup because of a drop in property tax revenue. Pollock said the city will also lose state-shared revenue this year. If the millage doesn't pass, the city will make more cuts and the library may have to slash its book budget and reduce hours and employees.

Director Elizabeth Gulick said the library has already stretched thin its hours and employees. The library would lose state aid if it operates fewer than than 40 hours a week, Gulick said.  The library might have to cut its books, magazines and audio visual collection if the millage doesn't pass, Gulick said.

"I do understand it's a difficult time for everyone," Gulick said. “When times are tough, more people are looking for what we offer.”

This past year, the library received about $71,000 from the city in addition to state aid, federal grants and other incomes that total about $50,000, Pollock said. 

"We are still trying to provide services to the residents that they want," Pollock said. "One hundred thousand dollars is something (the city) can't do without making cuts."

Clarification: The average home assessment value and the cost for the average taxpayer were changed to reflect updated figures provided by the city after this story first published. Planned cuts in services and layoffs are a result of less property tax revenue in addition to a loss in state funds.