Voters in the Belleville, Van Buren and Sumpter communities will be asked to replace an expired library operating millage on the Aug. 2 primary ballot.
Members of the library board approved the language for the ballot question during a meeting earlier this month. The requested 0.6864 millage will replace the operating tax which expired last year, officials said. Board members opted to place the millage question on the primary ballot this year rather than call for a special election when the levy expired during the pandemic.
The millage is for a period of 15 years, officials said and is the same amount as the expired tax which funds library operations. At the requested rate, taxpayers would pay about 69 cents per each $1,000 of taxable property value, usually assessed at half the market value of property.
According to the approved language, the library would collect an estimated $1,189,187 from the .06864 tax the first year. If approved by voters, the millage would remain in effect from 2022 until 2036 in the communities the library serves.
