City council members in Troy, north of Detroit, are working on getting funding for a new public library. Last year, residents rejected a $137 million bond proposal that included funding for roads, parks and recreation, public safety, and the public library.
Ethan Baker, the mayor of Troy, said the proposal failed with 45% of residents voting yes and 55% of residents voting no.
Baker said the last bond approved in Troy, which is Oakland County's largest city, was in 1999. “Troy just doesn't do a lot of these bond proposals, so it's not part of the regular voting pattern.” The library itself was last expanded in 1984.
Baker said the city didn't convince residents that they needed a new library. “I think there was also a lot of economic uncertainty that played a factor in the ultimate rejection,” he continued. “People have really been concerned about the effects of tariffs, just that uncertainty in general, based on what's happening in Washington and even Lansing at this point.”
The cost of the library, originally in the $40 to $50 million range, jumped to a maximum of $75 million. Baker said inflation and estimates from architects who designed a new building played a role in the increase.
Baker said the amount of people using the library as a resource reflects the community’s desire for a vibrant public library, and a high quality library would match Troy’s education-focused community. “It’s the No. 1 most visited gathering place,” he said.
“We know that our teenagers are using our library for studying all the time. There’s something to do in our library for babies and toddlers all the way up to our oldest residents in the city of Troy.”
“You recognize that it's a community asset,” Baker continued. “So for me, the idea of having a new library is indicative of what our city represents and of what our residents need and expect. Getting there and how we pay for it, you know, that's something you continue to work at.”
Baker said the library needs more space for studying, and it also has some structural issues that aren’t ideal for a city of Troy’s size.
“The bones of the building are not really great for that kind of major rehabilitation process,” he said. “So we recognize the type of library a community of our standing should have. And because of that, it continues to have a major focus.”
According to Baker, Troy’s city council hasn’t yet determined what the next steps are. But he said it’s likely they’ll introduce another bond proposal to get funding for either a brand new library or for major renovations on the existing building.
In 2024, Troy Public Library completed a Strategic Plan based on extensive community engagement to assess the library’s current state and create a vision plan for the future.
This year, Baker said the priority is to continue to educate residents on what the city’s needs are and to hear from residents about what they want and are willing to pay for moving forward.
“We provide, you know, A-plus library services in a D-plus building,” Baker said. “And I had said as a challenge kind of to the community, isn't it time we also have an A-plus building to match those services?”
