On November 5, 2024, Farmington and Farmington Hills voters will be asked to consider a 20-year renewal of the Farmington Community Library’s summer operating millage.
The November 5th ballot question proposes a millage renewal at the rate of 0.9264 mills. This is equivalent to the current summer millage rate; FCL is not requesting an increase. Funds levied by this millage account for 55% of the Library’s total revenue on average each year. This millage funds normal Library operations.
The millage the Library is seeking to renew will expire in December of 2024. This millage was originally approved by voters on May 3, 2005.
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If the proposed millage is approved, FCL will continue normal operations.
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If the proposed millage is not approved, FCL will need to reduce services beginning in July 2025. Affected services include public service desk staffing, building hours, and purchasing for Library collections. Final decisions outlining specifically how this budget cut would affect Library services would be determined by the Farmington Community Library Board of Trustees.
What does this millage cost?
The millage renewal rate is .9264 mills. The cost to each property owner is calculated by multiplying the taxable value of the property by the millage rate and dividing it by 1,000.
Millage Calculation: Taxable Value x Millage Rate/1000
The taxable value of your property can be found on the Property Tax Statement or by contacting your local assessor's office. In general, it is equal to 50% of the market value of the property.
Use the form below to calculate your annual summer library tax by entering the taxable value of your property.
Calculate your Summer Library Tax
Ballot Language
Shall the Farmington Community Library, County of Oakland, be authorized to levy annually a renewal of the previously authorized millage, which expires in 2024, in an amount not to exceed .9264 mill ($0.9264 per each $1,000 of taxable value) against all taxable property within the Farmington Community Library district for a period of twenty (20) years, 2025 to 2044, 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 $4,750,000. A portion of the revenue collected may be subject to capture by the City of Farmington Downtown Development Authority and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the City of Farmington Hills Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, and the Grand River Corridor Improvement Authority.
Voter Registration & Election Information
For complete election information, including early voting and absent voter procedures, visit the City of Farmington Hills and the City of Farmington websites.
City of Farmington Election Information
FCL Financial Information
The Library is primarily funded through property taxes. FCL levies two property tax millages, a summer tax and a winter tax. Together, property taxes account for approximately 87% of the Library’s annual revenue.
Average revenue accrued through property taxes between 2018-2025 is calculated using the Library’s 2024-2025 Approved Budget and 2019-2020 Approved Budget. Numbers from Fiscal Year 2023-2024 and Fiscal Year 2024-2025 are PROJECTED.
View the Library’s Financial Information page for more documentation. If you are unable to find the information you are looking for, please submit a comment using the contact submission form at the bottom of this web page.
FCL Service Usage Information
FCL is open 68 hours each week and offers the community access to nearly 280,000 items in its collections. Between July 1 of 2015 and June 30 of 2024, the Library averaged:
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948,075 item checkouts per year
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41,401 active borrowers per year
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424,710 Library visits per year
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1,363 events and 42,904 event attendees per year
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78,714 public computer sessions per year
Average service usage is calculated from publicly available data reported on the Library of Michigan’s website. This information is tracked and submitted to the State of Michigan as a part of FCL’s annual State Aid Report. Please note that data from Fiscal Year 2022-2023 and Fiscal Year 2023-2024 have not yet been publicly reported by the State of Michigan.
On August 21, FCL held a Town Hall Our Director, Kelley Siegrist. The presentation covered current and future FCL initiatives, the Library's 2022-2029 Strategic Plan, general millage information, and allowed time for attendees to ask questions and discuss Library topics important to them. The presentation portion of the event was recorded and can be watched on our YouTube channel at the link below.
Questions?
If you have any additional questions about the 2024 millage renewal proposal, please submit the contact form below so that we can find the right answers for you.