Dozens of community members packed the Des Moines City Council chambers on May 18 as public library leaders made their case to protect the system from an estimated $12 million shortfall in the city’s budget for fiscal year 2028.
Des Moines Public Library leaders, including director Melissa McCollum, provided an update to City Council members at a Monday morning council work session about the library’s services and promoted the system’s positive impacts on literacy, the economy, public safety and community. The conversation follows community concerns over potential library cuts in the aftermath of new state property tax-cutting legislation.
Library board of trustees president Tim Hickman said the library’s work in 2025 is exemplified by a quote from R. David Lankes: “Bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services, great libraries build communities.”
“Council members, by this or by any other definition, we have a great library system. The administration of our libraries, with the support of management of our library board of trustees are ready to roll up our sleeves to find savings, efficiencies and partnerships to address realities of upcoming budgets,” Hickman said as library supporters erupted in applause.
Des Moines approved its 2027 fiscal year budget in early April, including an estimated $256 million general fund, which makes up the largest portion of its nearly $855 million operating budget. The Des Moines Public Library makes up about 4% of the city’s general fund, which pays for all of the city’s operations and departments and is largely funded by property taxes.
The anticipated reductions to the library are part of a slate of cuts expected to impact the city budget in the 2028 fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2027. City leaders pointed to a property tax reform bill approved by Iowa lawmakers in early May, which includes a 2% growth cap on local governments’ general fund levies, with exceptions for new construction.
Hickman previously told the Register the board was given a “very broad range” of what cuts could look like before state lawmakers passed the final version of the bill, with a reduction of library hours on the low end of the range and a potential library closure on the high end.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the bill on the afternoon of May 18.
River Bend resident Loulou Dickey, who spoke at the City Council meeting Monday night, said the property tax bill passed by the Iowa Legislature puts cities in a corner.
“It caps what we can raise without a clear way to replace it, and it leaves us holding the bags for cuts you did not choose. The people who created this problem are not the people sitting in front of me tonight,” Dickey said. “The hard decisions ahead are going to need input from residents, and I hope we can find a way to give it without taking it out on each other.”
‘We have to make the numbers work at the end of the day’
During the work session, city manager Scott Sanders and finance director Nick Schaul addressed impacts to the city budget for fiscal year 2028. Schaul projects a $12 million shortfall that year, but says the city is gearing up for a $17 million shortfall in the 2029 fiscal year.
Sanders told the council the new property tax law is the latest in a decade’s worth of damaging changes to the state’s property tax system that have made it challenging for the city to provide services to residents.
“Without this most recent cap placed on our property taxes, we could have grown more than 2% and handled expenses in that typical 3.5% range that we’ve experienced,” Sanders said. “But that is not an option for us moving forward. We have to make the numbers work at the end of the day.”
Given the magnitude of the cuts, the city is starting its budget discussion over the summer and will provide more opportunities for public input through surveys and work sessions, he said.
Council members Joe Gatto and Linda Westergaard said it will be important that the surveys provided to the public don’t pit different departments against each other. Gatto suggested instead giving people choices for cuts within departments.
“I’m sure we’re going to look at all departments,” Gatto said. “We’re not just going to take a hatchet to the parks or the library. We’re going to look at everything.”
Sanders said all departments will need to submit initial ideas for savings, but departments may be asked to make additional cuts later to balance the budget.
“In other words, we need to hear from library advocates of, ‘then where can we be making cuts?’ and look at the other department lists to make sure that we are getting things balanced at the end of the day,” he said. “There is no easy answer to this at all.”
The cuts to departments would not be proportional to their budgets, Sanders added, hinting that 60% of the general fund budget is allocated to public safety.
“I find it very hard to believe these cuts are going to be 60% public safety,” he said.
Council member Rob Barron told the public to prepare for what will be a “big and scary list” of potential cuts, adding that community feedback will be crucial in the process.
“We have to all see this jointly as not a situation where there’s heroes and villains here, but that we’re actively trying to meet the needs of our community with less resources and not because of the fault of anyone in this room,” Barron said.
Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines city government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines library leaders make case for system as city weighs cuts
Reporting by Virginia Barreda, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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