Hancock-area homeowners would pay $70 a year per $100,000 of taxable property value to keep their public library open and staffed under a millage proposal that cleared its final hurdle Tuesday evening.
The newly formed Hancock Area District Library board held its inaugural meeting Tuesday, Aug. 11, and voted 5-0 to submit a 0.70-mill levy to the Houghton County Clerk for the Nov. 3 ballot. The five-year millage, running 2026 through 2030, is projected to raise between $185,000 and $200,000 annually. That's enough to maintain the library's existing service contract with the Portage Lake District Library.
The vote came just hours after interim state librarian David Votta granted formal approval for the new district library, according to WLUC. Without that sign-off, the board could not have legally convened or filed the proposal.
Who's on the board
All five trustees were appointed Saturday, Aug. 8, at a joint session of the Hancock City Council and Hancock Public Schools Board of Education. At the Tuesday, Aug. 11, meeting, they elected officers:
- President: Carolyn Dekker
- Vice President: Ruth Gill
- Secretary: Dean Woodbeck
- Treasurer: Jillian Shilling
- Member: council member Whitney Warstler
The city appointed Woodbeck, Warstler and Gill. The school board appointed Shilling and Dekker.
Why it matters
The effort traces back to a roughly $200,000 budget deficit at Hancock Public Schools that threatened library operations. To bridge the gap, HPS signed a nine-month contract with the Portage Lake District Library to keep doors open while officials worked on a permanent fix, according to myupnow.com. The new district library is a quasi-municipal entity, independent of both the city and the school district, with its own board overseeing operations and funding.
"We really just want to be able to keep this library excellent into the future," Dekker said at Tuesday's meeting.
Dekker said the board plans to keep the public informed about what the millage covers and why it's needed.
What happens if it fails
Board secretary Dean Woodbeck warned at an Aug. 7 joint meeting that if the millage does not pass by March 31, 2027, the library reverts to a school public library and the entire formation process would have to restart, likely requiring a new election in May.
The original millage proposal was set at 0.6 mills but was amended to 0.7 mills at the Saturday, Aug. 8, joint session, the Mining Journal reported.
What's next
Hancock-area voters will decide the millage on Nov. 3. The board filed its proposal ahead of the Houghton County Clerk's Wednesday, Aug. 12, deadline.
