Library Funding At Stake In Today’s Vote

Voters in the City of Houghton and Portage Township will vote today and decide the fate of the Portage Lake District Library.

The current proposal on the ballot would renew an existing mill property tax that has sustained the library for the past 20 years.

Portage Lake District Library Director Dillon Geshel said, “That mileage levy accounts for over 85% of our annual revenue. It makes everything we do at the library possible and there’s no substitute funding for that revenue, so without that, ultimately the library would have to close.”

Geshel emphasizes to voters that the millage does not increase taxes, it simply continues what homeowners are already paying—an average of $5 to $8 a month per household, which would allow the Library to remain in operation over the next seven years, when the next millage would be up for vote again.”

Geshel said, “If the millage were not to pass and a millage could not be set at the end of the day, the library would be forced to close. But just looking at the things that would no longer be possible—from our books and materials, to our programs, we’re doing two to three different children’s story time events every week, panel discussions on local issues, movie nights—hundreds of different community programs every year that the library makes possible.”

Last year, Chassell voted to withdraw from the district, putting a financial strain on the library, but Geshel says despite that strain, the library would be able to pull through if today’s voters provide a positive result.