Saline Library Explains August Millage Renewal

Saline District Library is asking voters to renew an operating millage on the Aug. 4 ballot, but the question many residents have asked is not why the library needs money. It is why the library is asking for less.

The proposal would renew an expiring 20-year, 0.55-mill operating millage for 10 years at 0.33 mills. Library officials say the request is not a tax increase. For a home with a taxable value of $200,000, the renewed millage would cost $66 per year.

Library Director Karrie Waarala announced the ballot request in a June 17 eNews to patrons, writing that most of SDL’s revenue comes from two millages and one of them is expiring. The millage up for renewal makes up approximately 26% of the library’s revenue.

In a July 1 update, Waarala addressed a question she said has come up in community conversations: how the library can afford to ask for less than the original 0.55 mills.

Waarala said the library has not levied the full 0.55 mills in recent years because the taxable base has grown as more homes have been built and property values have increased. Instead, SDL has levied 0.33 mills for the past six years and is asking voters to continue that rate.

“A 0.33 mill millage is a promise to the community that the library will not ask taxpayers for more money than needed for the next 10 years,” Waarala wrote.

Waarala and Linda TerHaar, president of the library board, also recently joined Mayor Brian Marl for a community coffee hour at The 109 Cultural Exchange, where they discussed the ballot proposal and the library’s role in the Saline area.

While books remain central to SDL, library officials say the operating millage also supports the broader ways residents use the building: digital materials, internet access, public computers, study rooms, teen space, summer reading, craft workshops, lectures, story hours, outdoor programming, the SDL Seed Library and the ETC Collection, which lets patrons borrow items such as tools, games and instruments.

In 2025, the library reported 251,518 items checked out, 158,183 visits, 130,861 eLibrary checkouts, 49,785 uses of public Wi-Fi and computers, and 22,587 program attendees.

That range of services was also part of the library’s recent renovation. TerHaar said the library has a history of long-term financial planning, including setting aside money for the renovation rather than returning to voters for an additional request.

The renovation was shaped by community feedback, she said, including requests for more teen space, additional study rooms and updated programming areas. Waarala said the teen space is especially important because SDL sits next to Saline Middle School, making the library a common after-school stop for students.

The project also created more accessible outdoor space, including areas used for programming and community gatherings.

The library is separate from the city of Saline, surrounding townships and Saline Area Schools, though its district boundaries match the school district. SDL serves about 28,000 residents in the city of Saline, Saline Township and parts of Pittsfield, York, Lodi, Bridgewater and Freedom townships.

Voters will decide the proposal on the Aug. 4 ballot.