Vote Yes Troy Library

05/26/2026

Sharing from a local library!

Libraries have so much value. We are thankful for the residents in Troy who know that and continue to advocate for a building worthy of our City.

Libraries are full of information, stories, culture, and can offer a sense of community to all who visit!

05/08/2026

It's nearly time for Summer Reading! Make sure to join the kick-off and receive FREE BOOKS from the Friends of the Troy Public Library!

📅 Save the date!
Troy Public Library is ready to Unearth a Story and start the summer right.

Join the library Friday, June 5, at 6 PM for the Summer Library Program Kick-Off event! Families can enjoy games, animals, and food trucks and even get a picture with Booker T-Rex 🦖 At the event, you can sign up for summer reading and start logging your reading and activities the same day.

Make plans now for this family-friendly event and celebrate summer break with your community.

See full event details at troypl.org/calendar

04/28/2026

We Have to Apologize

We're sorry. We see the opposition - those anti-let’s-have-nice-things-in-Troy-folks - and their fancy AI Chatbot generated magical narratives, and we just can't compete.

We don't have fancy caricatures of City leaders or School Admins.

We don't use unverified numbers and data from artificial intelligence.

Heck, our intelligence isn't artificial at all. It's only the real version. We rely on silly things like actual numbers and data from legitimate sources. We apply a narrative of reality, not make believe.

So when we evaluate the TPL budget and how it's changed over the years, we remember that the facility almost closed in 2010-2011. The budget reflects what it would have taken to shutter the place, store the books, and let all the people go. As time moved forward and millages were approved, the budget allowed for a more robust staff, increased spending for the collection, tech improvements, and a LOT of building maintenance.

And let's face it...the budget reflects inflation. Everything costs more now, including and especially personnel costs.

That's not artificial or devious. It's just plain reality.

So we're sorry we can't befuddle you with BS. We have merely attempted to educate you with reality.

04/27/2026

The kick-off for the Summer Reading Program is always the most popular event of the season! Literally thousands of free books are put into the hands of kids in our community, and the love of reading is compounded exponentially.

Support the Library...support literacy in our City!

📅 Save the date!
Troy Public Library is ready to Unearth a Story and start the summer right.

Join the library Friday, June 5, at 6 PM for the Summer Library Program Kick-Off event! Families can enjoy games, animals, and food trucks and even get a picture with Booker T-Rex 🦖 At the event, you can sign up for summer reading and start logging your reading and activities the same day.

Make plans now for this family-friendly event and celebrate summer break with your community.

See full event details at troypl.org/calendar

04/24/2026

Funding a City with Magical Thinking: Part 1

How many times have we heard that municipalities have to “think outside the box” or that there are “other ways” to pay for basic services besides through taxation? Let’s explore some of the magical ways anti-taxers have shared that will supposedly make everything come up rainbows and unicorns in every resident’s wallet.

Pay-for-Play

The common theme here is that some residents don’t want to spend their money on community amenities for which they either no longer have a use or have never used. We repeatedly hear the “I don’t use it! I shouldn’t have to pay!” refrain. Most commonly thrown out during library discussions, we have also heard it with reference to supporting our schools; to making needed repairs to the outdoor Aquatic Center and the Community Center; to the building of sport courts/pitches; and more.

However, we assume Troy residents choose to live in a city that is a great place to live, work, and play, and we all reap the benefits of having those amenities. Troy has and maintains a AAA bond rating, has been consistently recognized for successful and conservative budgeting processes, and has excellent services, schools, and quality-of-life venues.

Troy also has one of the lowest - if not the lowest - City millage rates in Oakland County. That is not by choice, but by circumstance. A Charter Amendment was passed nearly two decades ago that prevents Troy from raising taxes without a vote of the electorate, and our City millage rate is frozen unless changed by a vote. Previous to that, City leaders had the option to levy our taxes up (no more than 1.9 mills at a time) or down. Even under those circumstances, did you know Troy lowered our taxes more times than they raised them?

So our City has learned to be lean and to work with what we have. But when the costs continue to outpace revenues, something has to give. Troy has, in the past, decided to keep less back in savings, as it were (fund balances), but that is not sustainable. As one former City Council member used to say, “Less is less.” There will come a time that Troy will have to either see a millage increase or expect to lose some level of services. And being a member of a community is not a cafeteria-style option. We cannot simply opt out of paying a portion of taxes for the things we don’t support.

We are either all in, or we should move somewhere that makes us happier.

Our obvious focus on this page is the Library, and the TPL receives much backlash from anti-taxers who don’t value libraries. What they are missing is that funding a sustainable library should not be an option. The rewards a Library brings are immeasurable, and Troy deserves a building in which to maintain and build the legacy we have in our TPL.

Indeed, every city is enriched by a vibrant library. In fact, name one thriving community of the scope and stature of Troy that doesn’t have a public library.

We’ll wait.

04/23/2026

The impacts of a library are immeasurable! We are so luck to have a thriving library community in Troy. This is why we are committed to making sure our TPL system stays sustainable into the future, and why we advocate for a new, safer, secure, accessible building.

04/22/2026

Realities of Public Funding: Part Three

Why Can’t the TPL Just Start a Fundraising for a New Library?

Over the past few days, we’ve explained how public libraries obtain funding. The majority of funding is collected through the tax base as it has been since public libraries were established. There are meager and dwindling grant and charitable funds, most of which are offered in specialized circumstances and not to thriving communities like Troy. And the TPL started an endowment via fundraising that provides minimal return for small projects.

Sometimes, patrons leave money to the TPL through their estates and wills. That is a rare occurrence.

Therefore, most other significant financial support comes from the volunteer groups that support public libraries: The Friends.

The Friends of the Troy Public Library know all about working to provide support to the TPL; in fact, our Library only exists because of the initial book gathering drive by the Friends of the TPL in 1962. That event started the collection of materials that became the Library we know and love today. From there, the Friends of the TPL began a legacy of volunteerism, advocacy, and support for both our Library.

But book sales cannot fund construction of the magnitude needed to bring the TPL up to date, safer and more secure, accessible to all, and sustainable. While the Friends Book Shop sales raise approx. $50,000-80,000 annually, most of that (approx. 95%) is gifted back to the Library to support programming and other enhancements. And while it is true that the FTPL has money they’ve invested over time, their holdings wouldn’t cover even 1% of a new structure. Further, that money is earmarked for special projects (like the $25,000 donation they made to the Bookmobile), improvements to their own shops (new paint, carpeting, and shelving in 2017-18 and - hopefully - an updated Friends shop in a new building), and advocacy.

Further, the Friends are an all-volunteer group who suffer the same trials and travails of any volunteer group in today’s world. Numbers dwindle, personal responsibilities/illnesses and more can interfere with the desire to do more, and longevity of service is difficult to sustain.

They have also suffered closures of the shops due to the mold remediation, flooding, HVAC repairs, loss of power, and more. Anytime the Library is closed, the Friends cannot make money. So as with the Library, the Friends have neither the means nor the availability of funding to magically construct a new Library without community investment.

Anyone suggesting otherwise is living in a world of fantasy.

04/21/2026

Realities of Public Library Funding: Part Two

Why Doesn’t the Library Just Apply for a Grant?

First, we all need to understand that we simply aren’t blessed with the philanthropic spirit that built this nation to what it is today. There are no more Andrew Carnegie type benefactors who are willing to make the social investments we enjoyed in the last 19th/early 20th century. Indeed, many US citizens and corporations with the kind of money who could help out library systems, schools, hospitals, and more don’t even pay their fair share of taxes.

But we digress…

As far as other sources of grants, Michigan does not have as many infrastructure grant opportunities as can be found in other states; some other states offer substantial funding for new buildings or large renovations, especially in rural or underserved areas. But many grant opportunities do not favor affluent cities like Troy. Even if there were a grant like that for Troy, these grants are usually not enough to even build a small structure without supplementation from a bond or millage. For example, the American Library Association offered up to $10,000 to public libraries that are or will serve New Americans (immigrants and refugees) in 2025. But a $10,000 grant would be a drop in the bucket toward building the modern-day library that Troy deserves.

As for federal funding, there are sometimes opportunities available for projects. But the TPL operates as a department of the City of Troy, and as such would have no say in what projects are requested. The City would pursue those projects on behalf of the TPL. The TPL does occasionally receive bequests or donations for larger sums, but those gifts are infrequent. It is obviously not reasonable to rely on the death of a benefactor for funding a new structure.

Again, public libraries are by and large funded through property taxes. Libraries are not optional for thriving communities; they are not pay-for-play entities. There is no magic bullet for funding.

Next Installement: Why Not Just Fundraise for a New Library?

04/20/2026

Realities of Public Library Funding

Public libraries are funded by public funds...your property taxes. That's how it works. But no matter how many times that is explained, there is a sector of society who thinks they have the perfect answer anytime library funding comes up.

Case in point, from the Troy Hall Monitor page:

"I'm trying to understand why they are not working with the City's community development department and look (sic) into grants that can be matched. They need to start a fundraiser for a new library on there (sic) own. Every little bit raised will help them to use that money as a match to a federal/state grant."

We want to help you understand. Here is installment one of a three-part series.

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Why Isn’t the Library Working with the Community Development Department or Other Organizations in the City to Build the Library?

The short answer is that they are…and have been all along.

The long answer is that the Library was one of the driving forces in founding the Troy Community Foundation in 2015-2016 under the leadership of then-director, Cathy Russ. This was part of her initiative to provide long-term funding for the Troy Public Library, especially given where we were with needing a millage to keep the doors open.

However, under the guidelines of the foundation, the TPL does not get to touch the principal of their endowment account. They do get yearly disbursements from the interest that can fund small projects, like a new collection in a department of the Library, say a set of books for the youth, adults, or teens. There is also a grant system whereby they can apply for small amounts of funding up to $3000. When asked about helping to fund the Bookmobile at the time it was proposed; however, the TPL was told that no, a larger amount as was needed was not possible. And as for the total amount in the endowment for the TPL, it’s nowhere close to $75 million - or even $1 million - so the Troy Community Foundation isn’t able to fund a new building.

As for partnering with Troy businesses, the TPL does make ample use of Troy Chamber corporate sponsorships when appropriate. But there has yet to be interest in funding a major project like providing a new building, although many local corporate entities are generous in other ways.

Note: If anyone has connections with Nate Forbes, we’d love to talk with him. In fact, we DID try to reach out to him during the November campaign. He did not contribute to the effort.

Next Installment: Why Doesn’t the Library Just Apply for a Grant?

04/17/2026

Monitoring Troy: Be Aware

Our Vote No Friends deputized themselves as the moral and financial conscience of this City...) and have rebranded their page as "Troy Hall Monitor."

We are reasonably sure at least one failed City Council candidate has Admin powers to post (and innocently replies to himself fairly often as well). They are joined by a cavalcade of other Admins., we're assuming, based on obvious syntax differences.

The page seems to be dedicated to trashing the City, the School District, and/or any resident with whom they disagree. That would include us.

Thus we know they "monitor" us, and clearly we monitor them. And while we don't wish to engage in a back and forth, topic by topic discussion, we will combat their inaccuracies and outright lies.

Currently, they think we don't understand the outcome of the most recent bond vote, and they certainly do not wish to see any chance of a newly build TPL. Too bad...we'll keep fighting for what is best for the entire City overall, not our own narrow views.

If you'd like further entertainment, we suggest checking out Ed Ross for City Council (also a twice failed candidate) and Citizens Against Ed Ross for City Council. It is fascinating to see the viewpoint of what appears to be a majority of firefighters who disagree with the Ross narrative (a narrative wholly embraced by the Monitors, might we share...).

Stay engaged and be vigilant in seeking facts vs. rhetoric.

Above all, let's keep working for the TPL we all deserve.