Ross apparently wants to withdraw from the library for budgetary reasons, but it has to give a 4-year Notice before it can do so. Thus Ross would still pay its $400,000/year for 4 years and any savings would not alleviate the Township's budgetary problems. In 4 years, the economy will be on the upswing and Ross will be short on library services (and no...the Carnegie system will not pick up the slack just because it's inconvenient for us to pay).
Ross Township's $400K constitutes approx. 20% of the Northland Library's current annual budget. Added to the 6-7% budget loss the library already suffered due to decreased funding from the state, the departure of Ross would be a crippling blow. The library would have to cut hours, jobs, and many of the vital learning programs it currently offers. We would lose the free grade k-12 tutoring; the free college tutoring ; the free computer classes to improve job qualifications; the free job hunting and research center; the free space that often acts as a community and cultural center; the free access to market research databases for small businesses; the free books, movies, audiobooks, and other resources for adults and kids; etc., etc., etc. There is too much to describe in this post.
If you don't think supporting our students, our job hunters and our small businesses is all that important, let's follow the money. On average, our family visits the library once a week. The books, videos, games, music CD's, and audio books we borrow would probably cost us $200 per week if we had to buy them. The money we save is the money we can spend in stores - mostly in Ross Township. Let's follow the money some more: Consider that Ross Township was one of the communities which founded the Northland Library in 1968. Over the last 5 years, RT spent around $400K/year. If this figure holds adjusted for inflation and is fairly constant through time, we are talking about $16,400,000 principal investment over this time period, an investment RT wants to walk away from in order to save the relatively low continuing payment of $400,000; or 2.4% of the investment we have already made. That investment is reflected in the quality of life we enjoy in the North Hills, our stable and healthy real estate prices, and the school system those taxes support. Remove the libary and all of those will suffer. It reminds me of the story of Esau, who was hungry after a bad hunt and traded his inheritance and rights as first-born son for a bowl of lentil soup. The younger, smarter brother was Jacob. He went hungry for a night, but won the life he wanted in the long run.
The economy will pick up once again and in 4 years when Ross Township is no longer obligated to contribute to the Northland Library, we will all look back at this unfortunate idea as a desperate act by shortsighted people willing to give away all our futures for an anti-tax slogan that would cost us far more than it ever might save.