KENT COUNTY, Mich. — Many Kent County residents wondered after Tuesday's elections why the Kent District Library (KDL) was not on their ballot.
KDL serves many communities in Kent County, but not all of them. Many, like Grand Rapids and Cedar Springs, have their own library systems. Their tax dollars go to those library systems, not KDL. Thus, those voters in those districts would not have seen the KDL millage on their ballots.
"The City of Grand Rapids, for example, has their own library, so they aren't part of the Kent District Library," said Lisa Posthumus Lyons, Clerk for Kent County. "So, you'll see that in these areas that don't have the Kent District Library as their service area, they are serviced by some other library."
The millage passed with 77% of the vote. It will generate $26.6 million in its first year to cover the expense of materials (physical and digital) available for checkout, staff (wages and benefits), programs and events, library services (such as tech tutoring), technology (public computers, printers, self-check kiosks, etc.) and rent to the municipalities that own and maintain library buildings.
The millage will fund KDL for 15 years through 2039.
"Odd year elections, they don't get a lot of attention," said Posthumus Lyons. "They're not sexy, or flashy, like presidential elections, or gubernatorial elections, or, you know, those larger even your elections. But they're really, really important because they have issues and things on the ballot that really do impact you. They impact your community, they impact your pocketbook."
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