MILWAUKEE - — In the face of a big budget gap next year, city departments are being asked to explain what cuts of up to 20% would look like.
Milwaukee's police department says it could shut down District 6 and force officers to be laid off.
Now, the city's library director is also describing a dire scenario — saying drastic cuts could force 10 of Milwaukee's library branches to close.
2024 budget discussions have not yet begun in earnest but cuts are anticipated. The library is asking patrons to reach out to elected officials and tell them what services they want to see funded. Meanwhile, Milwaukee leaders continue to push state legislators to increase shared revenue and to allow a 1% local sales tax.
At this point, closing branches is a hypothetical discussion but it could become a swift reality.
"My goal is that no libraries are closed. But you know — I won't necessarily get the final say, unfortunately," said Joan Johnson, the library director.
Johnson went on to say that services and staff have already been cut to the bone after many years of inadequate budget allocations.
"And we've already automated as much as we can possibly automate. All of those transactional services — those functions that are purely transactional — like checking out a book," she explained.
Anticipating cuts, library leaders have been hosting community conversations at branches across the city to learn what services patrons value most, how they're using libraries now, and how they want to use them in the future.
May 9 is the next date on the 2024 budget calendar. That's the deadline for city departments to submit their requests to the city's budget office.
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