Lowered Tax Rate for Ann Arbor District Library May Result in Millage Decrease

The Ann Arbor District Library proposed lowering the tax rate that the library levies at the most recent Ann Arbor district library board meeting. The budget will be voted on at the upcoming May 18th meeting. The library currently levies 1.92 mills, where one mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s stated equalized value. The proposed change would reduce the library levy to 1.55 mills beginning July 1, 2009 (beginning of the fiscal year).

The projected fund balance at fiscal year end will be around $6.6 million and should remain level through next year. The 2009-10 budget is conservative and will allow for taxes to be as low as possible yet services to be maintained. The library won’t put money into the fund balance next year but this scenario will allow for the reduction.

The library budget will include a 2% wage increase for full time employees and a 10% increase in health care costs. Next year the millage may need to be increased as the tax base is expected to drop 4-6%. The voter approved library levy is 2%. All this in response to the depressed Ann Arbor economy.

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