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'Pretty heartbreaking,' Dorr Township Library facing closure after failed millage

Funds from the current decade old millage will run out at the end of 2019.

DORR, Mich. — More than 3,000 of Dorr's 7,000 residents have a library card. 

For some, it's their only way to access the internet. 

"Not everybody has equal access to the same services [in Dorr], but if you come to the library everybody has the same access," said Rachel Vote, the Dorr Township Library board president.

On Tuesday, a millage to levy 1.0 mill for the next 10 years was voted down by Dorr voters. Just over 20 percent of the population voted, and the millage lost by exactly 100 votes. 

"I don't think people in Dorr are willing to pay more money," Vote said. "And, I don't think people really understand what a dire situation we are really in."

Vote said residents have felt the impact of a fire and road millage in recent years. The library millage would have cost homeowners on average about $70 extra a year. 

"I feel like the library is such a vital part of our community and to see that people aren't willing to pay the taxes to maintain is pretty heartbreaking," Vote said.

Vote said without the millage, the library - which employs nine people - will only survive through 2020. 

"All of our numbers have grown over the past two years. The number of book checkouts have gone up, the number of audio checkouts have gone up, the number of people who use our databases has skyrocketed," Vote said. "We are not able to meet the demand because of our budget constraints."

The library's budget is $190,000 a year, and $70,000 of that comes from the taxpayers. 

Going forward, the library board will have to devise a plan to either propose another millage in November or make drastic cuts to their current offerings. 

Vote said they want the community's input to determine which programs and resources are worth keeping as they revamp their budget. 

► Emma Nicolas is a multimedia journalist. Have a news tip or question for Emma? Get in touch by email, Facebook or Twitter.

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