Library hopes to clarify bond request among residents

FRASER — The Fraser Public Library will be going to the City Council on Thursday, Dec. 8, to ask their approval for a bond, but library officials want to get the word out that this will not mean additional taxes collected from Fraser residents.

The council will meet at 6:30 p.m. at Fraser City Hall, located at 33000 Garfield Road, to discuss the matter and vote whether to grant the library approval for a bond up to $7 million, which is scheduled to be paid back over 20 years.

“The library is asking the city for a bond, and I think there seems to be some misinformation. It’s important for residents to understand that, if the city issues a bond to the library, it doesn’t mean that taxes are going to go up,” said Marketing and Development Coordinator Fatima Syed. “We know people might have a moment of panic since the millage just passed, so they’re afraid that we’re already asking for more money, but that is not the case.”

“Will their taxes go up by getting a bond? No,” said Kristen Getzin, the programming and youth services librarian. “The (library) millage has already passed. That is what increased taxes. The bond will not.”

Bonds work by borrowing money and paying back over time, similar to a loan. Syed and Getzin said this just means being able to use the tax dollars already approved by residents in a more useful and proactive way.

“The money (for the bond) will get paid back through the money we get from the millage, but we don’t get all of that money at once so we would have to pay back the money for the bond over the course of the millage,” said Syed. “This will allow us to address ongoing issues or take on capital improvement projects.”

“Without the bond we cannot give you what was promised in the millage plan,” added Getzin. “I can’t go to a company and say, ‘I want a Xerox machine, but I will pay you in six months and in installments over the next 20 years.’ That’s essentially why a bond exists. It’s promising the money will come in but we need some of it up front so we can purchase the things we need to purchase.”

Syed said that asking the city for such a bond is the only feasible way for the library to get the funds necessary for its proposed improvements.

“We are a PA164 library,” she said. “Under the act in which this library was formed, we can’t issue ourselves a bond and there is no other way for us to take out a loan or anything like it, without getting a bond through the city. That is the best path in this situation to fund any capital projects.”

The library’s funding plans include improvements in a variety of areas.

“We want to primarily increase accessibility and address building issues,” said Syed. “We have more specific items in the millage plan. Some of it is technology, some of it is space, some of it is improving space in the parking lot.”

The Fraser Public Library staff said they want to be open and clear about how the money will be collected and how it will be spent, and they hope residents will support them at the upcoming City Council meeting.

“If you’re interested in finding out more, the millage plan is there. We have copies at the library, too,” said Getzin. “All of our technology plans are on the website. The minutes of previous City Council meetings also have the relevant information.”

The Fraser Public Library’s website is fraserpubliclibrary.org.