News photo by Steve Schulwitz: Justin Sytek drops his ballot into a vote counting machine after casting his vote at APlex on Tuesday.

ALPENA — While the financial situation of the Alpena County Library became clear after voters approved a property tax renewal Tuesday, Alpena County’s financial situation remains unclear after voters rejected a property tax proposal aimed at stabilizing the county budget, according to unofficial results Tuesday.

The voters’ decision ensures that the library has the resources it needs to remain open and continue to provide its services for the next decade.

At the end of the evening, the preliminary voting results showed that 4,966 votes were in favor of extending the library tax and 3,363 votes were against.

Voters’ decision to reject the county’s tax increase, dubbed the “Headlee Rollup” by county officials, means commissioners will likely be forced to make drastic cuts to offset a budget deficit expected to be well over $1 million. The tax would have helped the county recoup the revenue it loses each year in property taxes eliminated by a section of state law commonly referred to as the “Headlee Rollback.”

The county’s proposed Headlee call failed by a vote of 4,070 to 3,882, and late Tuesday night it was still unclear whether the county would poll voters again in November.

A provision in the state constitution known as the Headlee Amendment automatically lowers local governments’ property tax rates – in what’s known as a “Headlee Rollback” – when property values ​​rise too quickly, preventing property tax revenue growth from exceeding the rate of inflation.

Governments can ask voters to override this automatic rollback so they can collect the full property tax rate.

The county sought a 0.7 percent increase, which would have generated annual revenue for the county of approximately $800,000, but would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home approximately $35 per year.

The library, meanwhile, has opted for a 10-year extension at 0.7462 per thousand, which will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $37 per year.

If tax reform had failed, library officials would have saved only enough money to keep the library open for about three months, after which the library would have had to close indefinitely.

In the months leading up to the election, there were some doubts about public support for the library.

Some people in Alpena County objected to some books being kept in the children’s and young adult section of the library because they believed them to be pornographic, and urged the library board to move the books to the adult section or behind the counter. Some residents threatened to vote against the library renovation if this issue was not resolved.

The library and its supporters said this would violate the rights of people who want the books under the First Amendment.

Last month, county commissioners voted to begin the process of replacing all library board members.

Reach Steve Schulwitz at 989-358-5689 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.