News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Alpena County Library is seeking a renewal and a new property tax in August. Both millages would be for 10 years if voters approve them in August.

ALPENA — If a proposed tax renewal for the Alpena County Library isn’t approved by voters in August, the library will close.

That’s what library officials say the consequences are if the current property tax isn’t extended. A new tax proposal could also be on the ballot and if it fails, widespread changes to operations and services will be considered.

On Aug. 6, the library will seek to have voters approve a renewal of its operation millage that keeps the doors to the facility open and approve a new, additional property tax to help cover heightened expenses and future infrastructure needs.

The library seeks a 0.7462-mill renewal and an additional 0.1538-mill property tax. The library would like to levy the tax for 10 years.

The library would use the tax revenue for operations and maintenance at the library and to help cover the cost of future infrastructure improvements not included in a 20-year, 0.25-mill property tax voters approved in 2019 to fund a large renovation project at the library.

The renewal would cost the owner of a $100,000 house about $37.31 a year, while the new tax would cost the owner of a $100,000 house an extra $7.69 a year or a total of $45 a year.

The Alpena County Library Board will have to take a different approach on how it will plan to pitch the tax proposals to the voters.

On Tuesday, the Alpena County Board of Commissioners voted against the library’s proposed ballot language because it included language for both property tax requests in one proposal.

A majority of the commissioners believed each specific request should be on the ballot initially.

Alpena County Commissioner John Kozlowski said he voted in favor of the proposed ballot language, but he urged library administrators to consider placing the proposals on the ballot separately. Because the board voted the language down, the library board will do just that, he said.

“I’m not against the millage, so I voted for it,” Kozlowski said. “I did tell them they really needed to separate them and break the proposal into two. I just think that is the best and most transparent way to do it.”

Jessica Luther, assistant director of the library, said the library board meets on Monday and it will determine if the library will move forward with both proposals individually or just place the renewal on the ballot.

She said then the appropriate ballot language will go before the commissioners again for their stamp of approval.

The deadline for ballot proposals is May 14 to be included on the ballot in August.

According to Luther, the library located in downtown Alpena serves about 4,000 people each month, and for most of them, it is for much more than just checking out a book. There are many programs, events, and technical tools, like computers, available to the public.

Luther was blunt in her assessment of what the ramifications would be if the renewal tax is not approved.

According to Luther, the library has enough money in its savings to continue operations, but then drastic action would be needed.

“The doors would have to shut after that,” she said. “Then the Alpena County taxpayers would still have to pay the millage for the building renovations, but be paying for an empty building.”

If the library decides to move forward with the separate property tax, and it fails, Luther said the library would still remain open, but on a much different scale.

“Services and the amount of hours we would be open would be cut,” Luther said. “We basically operate two buildings and the costs of utilities have gone up, the cost of maintenance has gone up, and all of the costs associated with a staff of 20 people have gone up. All of our costs have gone up. We would probably have to lay off employees.”

Commissioner Robin LaLonde voted against the ballot language because the full funding request was in one proposal. She said voters need to retain the ability to consider both requests because they may want to vote from one or the other, both, or neither.

“I believe they need to decide if it’s a renewal or a new millage,” LaLonde said. “If it’s a renewal, then ask for a renewal. If you’re asking to increase the millage, then that should be separated from the renewal as a new millage ask.”

Luther said the library intends to begin a campaign where library officials will begin the process of sharing information with local groups and residents of the county as a whole. She said the library board hopes voters will support the tax request and it will pass in the summer but added that if it fails, there is a plan to put it back on the ballot in November during the presidential election. Luther said that is not ideal, because even if it passed in November, the library wouldn’t wouldn’t be able to get the tax on the tax roll this year and it would have to wait for almost a year before the tax revenue began to arrive.

“We would have to wait a whole year before we began to get the funds and basically, we would have to close for a year,” she said.