Millage Renewal: August 6, 2024

Your Vote will Make a Difference!

  • On Tuesday, August 6th, the Public Libraries of Saginaw is seeking a renewal of its current millage.
  • The Public Libraries of Saginaw has served the community for the past 134 years, offering a safe haven for youth, families and all of our residents, since 1890.
  • Millage dollars are a critical source of funding to pay for library resources.
  • Library resources are available for everyone, and the education they provide helps build a strong foundation for any successful community.

Keep Your Taxes the Same

  • The Library millage rate would be 1.2983 mills (or $1.2983 on each $1,000 of taxable value).
  • This RENEWAL simply keeps the library funding in place until 2034.
PLOS Revenues (June 30, 2023) pie chart
  • This millage represents nearly 64% of the annual Library budget!
Girl Reading Picture Book by Dave the Bear at Hoyt

Who Can Vote?

  • Residents in the City of Saginaw, Zilwaukee and Kochville Township are a part of our tax paying district.
  • The millage would run from 2025 to 2034 – 10 years.

Who Used the Library in the Last Decade?

  • More than 3.2 million visitors came into one of the four Public Libraries of Saginaw branches, with 230,325 visitors in just the last year.
  • 157,295 people attended the many popular programs organized and held at the library branch buildings.

What are the Most Used Services?

  • More than 4.9 million items were checked out from the Public Libraries of Saginaw, including books, audiobooks, DVDs, and many other popular items, over the past decade.
  • The Library’s total Collection is 329,818 items including books, audiobooks, DVDs, subscriptions, e-books, and e-audiobooks.
  • 42,290 library cards have been issued to residents in the district since 2014.
  • Nearly 80 computers are available at four branches, for homework, research and job searches.
  • There were 34,265 uses of public internet computers and 104,718 uses of wireless logins in 2023.

What's Your Library Worth?

How much money are you saving by using your local library? Use this handy Library Value Calculator to find out.

 

What's New at the Library?

  • We have adapted and expanded services for residents as times have changed.
  • The Library secured grant funding to purchase and equip a new bookmobile.
  • The bookmobile brings library services closer to the residents, with 127 visits already in the past few months.   
  • We offer a “Library of Things”, which has expanded the items available to check out, by adding board games, STEM kits, iPads and chromebooks.

What Digital Services are Available?

  • All you need is a library card to download or stream materials everywhere you have a computer, phone, or TV – and all for free.
  • Libby by OverDrive offers audiobooks, eBooks, comics and magazines.
  • With Hoopla, you can borrow audiobooks, eBooks, comics, movies, TV, magazines, or music.
  • Kanopy offers thousands of movies that can be accessed free with a library card.
  • Over 500,000 books are available through Hoopla and Kanopy. 
  • 70,022 ebooks were “checked out” in the past year.

Summer Reading Program

  • In 2023, 4,696 children and teens signed up for the Summer Reading Program.
  • And, we offered 757 program sessions that 29,265 people attended.
  • Offered for over a century, the Summer Reading program has always been a way to encourage children to develop a love of reading and use the library during their summer vacation.
Summer Reading Adult Program
Bookmobile Parked in front of Hoyt at Jazz on Jefferson 2023
Photo of a Launchpad by Playaway
Children

The Ballot Language

Shall the Public Libraries of Saginaw, County of Saginaw, be authorized to levy annually a renewal of the previously authorized millage, which expires in 2024, in an amount not to exceed 1.2983 mills ($1.2983 on each $1,000 of taxable value) against all taxable property within the Public Libraries of Saginaw District for a period of ten (10) years, 2025 to 2034, inclusive, for the purpose of providing funds for all district library purposes authorized by law? The estimate of the revenue the District Library will collect in the first year of levy (2025) if the millage is approved and levied by the District Library is approximately $1,016,000. By law, a portion of the revenue from the millage may be subject to capture by the Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities of Saginaw County and the City of Saginaw and the Saginaw County Land Bank Fast Track authority.