How We're Funded

The primary funding source for the Jackson District Library is Jackson County property taxes derived from a millage voted in by county residents. This millage expires in December 2024. Other sources of revenue include state aid, penal fines, grants, donations, and more. Each of these sources are presented in more detail below:

Property Tax

Tax revenue is generated from a millage rate of 1.750 (equal to $1.75 per $1000 of taxable value of all taxable property of Jackson County). Due to the fluctuating amounts of other revenues, property taxes for 2021 represented 87% of JDL’s total revenues.

State Aid

Act 89 of 1977 provides for the establishment of cooperative libraries and for an appropriation for public libraries participating in cooperative libraries. Jackson District Library is a member of the Woodlands Library Cooperative and submits annual statistical reports to the State of Michigan as part of the State Aid process. These statistics are available at http://www.michigan.gov/libraryofmichigan.

Penal Fines

The Michigan State Constitution of 1963 requires that all penalties collected for violations of the state penal laws be divided into court costs, statutory fees, and penal fees. The penal fines are placed in a library fund to be used for the support of public libraries. Penal fines are distributed to public libraries by county treasurers. The amount is determined yearly based on population and local laws. The amount distributed depends on the amount of citations written using the state penal code, the fines levied by the court, and the fines collected by the county.

Fees

In 2020, JDL went "Fine Free" and all fines for overdue items were forgiven for patrons throughout Jackson County. Fees are still charged for lost or damaged items so that they may be replaced, as well as for making copies at any of our branches. While there is a yearly fee of $75.00 for out of county residents desiring a library card, any person who lives, works or goes to school in Jackson County can get a library card for free.

Miscellaneous

Contracted services & other revenue is included in the Miscellaneous revenue which accounts for approximately 3% of the annual revenues in 2020.