Chicago Budget Passes with $8 Million in Library Cuts
By David Rapp Nov 16, 2011The Chicago City Council, in a 50-0 vote, today unanimously passed Mayor Rahm Emanuel's $6.3 billion city budget plan, which included about $8 million in cuts to library funding, with cuts to library hours and staff.
The original budget proposal [PDF], unveiled October 12, called for deeper cuts, as LJ reported, including cutting library funding from $90.3 million in FY11 to $79 million in FY12 (with the city's contribution increasing from $63.4 million to $64.7 million, including a $10 million state grant for capital projects), cutting the library's FTE count from 1,128 to 765, and saving $6.6 million by reducing service hours by eight hours per week, specifically on Monday and Friday mornings.
This was revised upward on November 4, when the Mayor's office announced [PDF] an amendment [PDF] to the budget proposal:
Restoring $3.3 million to the library budget to allow for a full six-day-a-week schedule when school is out, during the summer months and over holiday breaks, providing children with more library access when they are away from school....The reduced schedule on Monday and Friday mornings will resume during the school year with agreement from the unions. The move will restore more than 100 of the planned library layoffs.
The same day, the library workers' union, the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Council 31, released a statement saying that even with the amendment, the budget would still cause the elimination of "184 layoffs and another 268 vacant positions" in city libraries.
Henry Bayer, executive director of AFSCME, Council 31, in a statement to the Chicago Tribune today, said, "We're very disappointed that aldermen have voted to reduce access to libraries, cut mental health services, privatize health clinics, and cut hundreds of good jobs."
AFSCME, Council 31, posted a petition online protesting the proposed budget, which had 5,460 signatures as of 2:30 p.m. today, and also raised awareness with a Facebook page and a Twitter feed.
Representatives from the union and the Chicago Public Library did not respond immediately to requests for comment by LJ.
