News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Pictured is the Harrisville branch of the Alcona County Library

HARRISVILLE — Alcona County voters will have the chance to vote on a 10-year renewal of the Alcona County Library operating millage on Aug. 4.

The operating millage expired on Dec. 31, Denise Bearre, Alcona County Library director, said. It was an eight year millage set at .5 mills. If renewed, the millage would increase by .25 mills.

A millage of .75 mills would mean that a house with a taxable value of $50,000 would owe $37.50 in taxes annually.

Bearre said that a renewal of the operating millage would be used to update aging HVAC systems of the three buildings that the library owns. The library has five branches total in Harrisville, Caledonia, Curtis Township, Lincoln, and Mikado.

She also said that the renewal would be used to continue paying staff a good wage.

“Minimum wage has almost doubled,” Bearre said. “We still want to pay our staff a decent wage.”

If the millage fails, the library would be forced to cease operations.

“This is 85% of our income,” Bearre said.

The library’s other sources of income are proportionally a lot smaller.

She said the first back up plan if the millage fails would be to put it back on the ballot in the November election.

Bearre said that they have been working on the campaign for a couple of months now and so far she has seen a lot of positive feedback.

“People seem to want their libraries to exist and stay open,” she said. “I’m encouraged by that.”

The Alcona County Library serves people of all ages in the community. They have a number of recurring events including storytime and craft for kids, a knitting and crochet club, a ukelele jam, and a walking club.

Special events in the month of July include a water color class, artist training cards, and a friends of the library book sale.

The ballot language for the millage proposal reads as follows:

“Shall the County of Alcona, Michigan, be authorized to levy a millage annually in an amount not to exceed .75 mill ($0.75 per each $1,000 of taxable value), of which .4878 mill is a renewal of the previously authorized millage that expired in 2025 and .2622 mill is new additional millage, against all taxable property within Alcona County for a period of ten (10) years, 2026 through 2035, inclusive, for the purpose of providing funds for all library purposes authorized by law, including maintaining and operating the Alcona County Library? The estimate of the revenue Alcona County will collect if the millage is approved and levied in the first year (2026) is approximately $759,000. Funds from this millage will be distributed to the Alcona County Library Fund.”