Library budget cuts a sad story for all of Dallas
by James Ragland
Once upon a time, the Dallas Public Library boasted a $32 million annual budget.
Those were the good old days.
Unfortunately, those days are long gone – siphoned off by a revenue drought that, once again, has the city dipping into every well it can find to fill a projected $130 million budget gap.
It's a familiar storyline, to be sure – one that's playing out in cities across the state and the nation.
But the Dallas library, once a sacred cow of sorts, is beginning to feel more like a sacrificial lamb in the city's numbers-crunching game.
The library's budget was cut to $28 million two years ago. Last year, the city tapped it for $6 million more in cuts.
This year, city officials are looking to drain up to $9 million from the library's bottom line, which would drop it to as low as $13 million next fiscal year.
Enough is enough, say some library protagonists, who are more than ready to throw the book at City Hall.
"We expected it to be tough, but not this tough," said Michelle Manners, chairwoman of Friends of the Dallas Public Library, a nonprofit advocacy group that also raises funds and supports literary and educational programs. "That, combined with the recreational cuts – what are kids going to do?"
Good question.
Better question: What are library patrons and supporters such as Friends of the Dallas Public Library going to do?
"We're definitely ramping up our efforts," said Manners. "We're working on an advocacy campaign to try to get in front of some people."
Her group soon will hand out bumper stickers and other paraphernalia that read, "I Love My Public Library."
They're working on fliers to help draw public support. They're also planning to dispatch messengers from their speakers bureau to any group that wants to learn more about the library's role – and its budget woes.
"We're hoping we can turn this around," said Manners.
To that end, ardent library supporters are poised to challenge Mayor Tom Leppert's position that the city needs to hold the line on spending and avoid raising property taxes to balance the budget.
"People who dogmatically say they're opposed to tax raises haven't thought through the consequences of that ideology," said David Kusin, past chairman of the library group now chaired by Manners.
Kusin won't have any problem finding council members sympathetic to his cause.
Indeed, most southern sector council members have expressed growing concern about how potentially deep cuts to parks, recreation centers and libraries will affect working-class neighborhoods.
I'll say this much: They're succeeding in getting taxpayers like me to think long and hard about whether the city is being pennywise and pound foolish.
As a taxpayer, I for one am willing to chip in a few more bucks to keep libraries and recreation centers open. There's certainly a compelling case to be made.
"I don't disagree," said Manners. "We have a horrible dropout rate in this city, and we need to keep the library doors open."
It's not like the mayor and City Manager Mary Suhm don't get that. They do.
Heretofore, both were considered leading advocates of reading and literacy. Suhm even worked at the library for a spell.
That's why outgoing library director Laurie Evans, whose last day with the city is Tuesday, finds it hard to blast either Leppert or Suhm for the difficult choices they are making.
"We know that everybody is hurting," Evans said, adding later that Suhm has been "an enormous advocate of the library, both personally and professionally."
Still, the stage is set for what is sure to be a contentious budget battle all summer, especially if the mayor sticks with his no-new-taxes mantra.
"The mayor's pretty firm on that," Chris Heinbaugh, the mayor's chief of staff, said Friday. "He understands all that, but he still sees the bigger picture. I don't see him going in another direction on that."
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