Beverly Hills Vote Preserves Baldwin Library Funding

will continue to provide service to the village of Beverly Hills and Bingham Farms after Beverly Hills voters approved a millage increase Tuesday evening 60 percent to 40 percent.

Had the Beverly Hills charter amendment been voted down, the library would have been forced to end their contract with the village. Since Beverly Hills pays Baldwin to use its services, Baldwin Library Director Doug Koschik said the library would have lost $450,000 in potential revenue next year, 17 percent of its annual income.

The proposal sought to amend the Beverly Hills village charter so it can levy taxes up to 12.91 mills for the next 10 years. Included in these funds were 0.92 mills to continue its relationship with Baldwin, which has been providing library services to Beverly Hills since the 1960s.

"Had the amendment failed to pass, it definitely would have been bad for our services," Koschik said. "I'm not going to speculate what we would have done, but suffice it to say, I'm very happy the charter amendment passed."

Under the current contract, Beverly Hills residents can access the same library services available to Birmingham residents, including thousands of books and audiovisual materials, computer classes, and programs for youths, teens and seniors.

Library millages in surrounding communities didn't fare as well. In Bloomfield Hills, residents voted against renewing their contract with the Bloomfield Township Library. The Troy Public Library is scheduled to close on June 30, 2011, after voters there voted down a library millage fund.

Opposition to the Beverly Hills measure sounded just as loud as support, with the proposal passing by a little more than 1,000 votes. However, according to Baldwin Library Board President Ann Conigliaro, only part of the resistance to the millage was concerned with the amount set aside for the library. For the most part, Conigliaro said, the library is a popular service in Beverly Hills.

"I think by continuing the partnership we have, it brings some added value to the residents of Beverly Hills, supports a well-rounded community and enhances the value of living," Conigliaro said.

Kaschik said he's also happy the amendment passed for the residents of Beverly Hills, citing its popularity throughout the community.

Between April 2009 and March 2010, Beverly Hills residents checked out 152,318 items from Baldwin, an increase of 67 percent from the same period four years ago, according to the library. As of March 2010, 46 percent of Beverly Hills residents were registered at Baldwin, and 59 percent of Beverly Hills households had at least one Baldwin cardholder.

"It's clear we're an important part of the cultural life in that community," Koschik said. "We provide programs and materials in the literary (and) educational fields in order to satisfy the needs of the people of Beverly Hills, and the research databases for its businesses."