Voters in Grand Rapids will decide next month whether to authorize a tax to support the city's library system for another 20 years. The tax began in 1997, when voters agreed to help the library pay off a bond for building projects and an expansion of the library system. The tax expires this year and the bond will be paid off.
The new tax would raise $1.75 million in the first year and would last until 2037. The library system could see reduced hours, closed branches and less outreach to schools if the property tax fails to pass on Nov. 7. The eight-building library system is running on a budget of $9.4 million — the same amount the library was spending in 2006.
