Question

Recently the Municipal Council of your area organized a rally for a cleaner, greener India in

which hundreds of schools participated. You were shocked to notice the litter that the rally

participants created. Share this incident with your diary.(word limit:60-70 words)​

Answer 1

Answer:

Dear Editor,

Restoring funding or eliminating the library: that is the decision we face as voters in Clarkston and Independence Township on Aug. 5, 2014!

In 1999 our community library received its money from the Township general fund, State funds, gifts and grants, and a “supplemental” library millage passed by us in 1965. Since 1999 the “effective” library funding has dropped by 41percent, due to decreases in funding from other sources and the effect of inflation. Now, the library operates solely on the funding provided by that supplemental millage. Significant decreases in operation, programs, equipment, and services have resulted. This millage of .75 mills (adjusted to .691 by state law) has not changed in over 35 years.

If we want our library to survive, be restored to appropriate operation, and be properly equipped and staffed, then we need to approve the Aug. 4 millage proposal. It is a request for 1.25 mills. Yes, this is greater than what we approved in 1965, but other funding has disappeared over the years and the value of a dollar has gone down. Yes, this is an “increase” as defined by law, but it is the minimum of what is needed to restore our library. Yes, the proposal includes funds for the Sashabaw Road corridor, but this is required by law and is less than “one-half of one percent” of the money collected; 99.7 percent of the millage proposal will go to fund the library, if passed. If not passed, the library will be totally unfunded.

Mark the date of Aug. 5 on your calendar, as if you were ear marking a page in a book (printed or digital), and plan to vote in favor of retaining and restoring an essential service. Our community’s future depends on it!

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