The Battle Lines are Drawn: Save Troy Library vs. Troy Citizens United

Troy gears up for library vote. Campaigning under way for millage that would avert closure. (Detroit News, 6/28/2011)

Excerpt:  The Troy City Council in May 2010 cut funding for the library and its nature museum, saying the city was facing a projected $2.2 million budget deficit for the next year and could not afford to operate the library from the general fund.

"It sends a bad message to our kids when we don't care about the library enough to keep it open," said Hilzinger. "It says that we don't care about the library, and literacy is not a priority for us."

Campaign efforts are under way for the measure that will be the sole item on the Aug. 2 ballot. Community groups have posted yard signs, sent out literature, made phone calls and knocked on doors.

The library has a circulation of 1.36 million items and has 700,000 annual visits, making it one of the busiest statewide.

Opponents of a library tax, including Troy Citizens United, [an alternate view] argue the city can afford to maintain the library without levying new taxes.

Committee member Deborah DeBacker said she's in favor of having a library but not raising taxes to keep it.

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Related articles:
August 2nd a "This Is It" moment for the Troy Public Library..  (5/17/2011)
Working to keep the library open.  (5/10/2011)
Will there be a library after June 30th?  (4/20/2011)
Keep the Troy Public Library open:  Council members told to 'figure it out'.  (4/19/2011)
May Day!  May Day!  Two Michigan libraries set to close on May 1.  (4/17/2011)
Library to close on May 1.  (2/23/2011)
Troy Michigan (population: 80,000) still on track to close its library.  (2/8/2011)
Voters wave bye-bye to their library.  (11/3/2010)
Giving voters more choices than they need.  (8/13/2010)
Library threatened with closure, part 2.  (5/19/2010)
Library threatened with closure, part 1.  (4/25/2010)