Detroit Cuts 20% of its Library Staff

The City of Detroit will send out layoff notices as early as today to 83 employees of the city library system, and senior administrators are taking a 10% pay cut.  The layoffs will be effective at the end of March and will hit all levels of the system except for security.  The payroll for the library system including benefits is currently at $28 million, more than half of the $50 million operating budget for this year.  The city is projecting a $14 million decline in revenue for the library, mostly due to falling housing taxes.

Further cuts may be needed and the city is considering closing some branches as a way to bring costs down.  More layoffs and unpaid furlough days are also possibilities.