Troy residents await fate of public library. (Detroit News, 8/2/2011)
Excerpt: More than an hour after the polls have closed, election officials say votes are still being tabulated in the city's third attempt at a tax hike to save its public library.
If the measure fails, city officials warn the building will close on Friday.
Community groups are at odds over the five-year, 0.7-mill tax that would cost the owner of a $200,000 home $70 a year.
The resident group TRUST, Troy Residents Unified for a Strong Troy, formed the ballot committee SAVE Troy to advocate for the library after a separate millage failed in November.
Co-founder Sue Martin, who formerly worked at the library, met her husband there and even got engaged inside the building, says the library can't stay open without dedicated, sustainable revenue.
But Deborah DeBacker, a committee member of the anti-tax group Troy Citizens United, says while the group wants to preserve the library, too, they've crunched the numbers and believe it can be saved without the millage.
The contentious issue led a separate organization to threaten to hold a book-burning party on the library's closure date if the item fails.
The group, Safeguard American Families (SAFE), registered in June as a ballot committee in favor of the millage. In July, the group apparently began circulating signs promoting the book-burning effort in city neighborhoods.
The millage, if passed, would generate $3.1 million for library services. The Troy City Council cut funding for the library and its nature museum in May 2010 to battle a $2.2 million budget deficit.
Related posts:
Very early vote tally. (8/2/2011)
Keep your fingers crossed for Troy Public Library. (8/2/2011)
Kids speak up for the Troy Public Library. (8/1/2011)
Partisan politics emerge in Troy Public Library vote. (8/1/2011)
Residents to vote on library village on August 2. (7/28/2011)
Patrons speak up for their library. (7/24/2011)
Safeguarding American Families: Vote yes to save Troy Library. (7/14/2011)
Troy mayor is upbeat. (7/14/2011)
Oakland Press editorial. (7/14/2011)
Book burning listed on Detroit News events calendar. (7/12/2011)
Troy Chamber supports millage request for library. (7/10/2011)
A half-million dollar library collection up in flames? Not gonna happen. (7/9/2011)
I)s it just me or are things heating up in Troy Michigan? (7/6/2011)
The battle lines are drawn. (6/28/2011)
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. &
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