All Dallas Public Library locations will be closed during three city staff furlough days, with the first closure on Friday.
The city announced furlough days last month to address a fiscal year 2026 budget shortfall. The days are July 10, Sept. 4 and Sept. 28.
During those days non-uniform employees — staff who are not in emergency or critical services like police officers or water utilities — will go without pay. Employees are also not eligible to use sick leave, vacation or comp time for those days.
"Furloughs are not our preferred solution; however they enable us to reduce expenses, protect jobs and employee health benefits, and continue delivering services to our residents," City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in the announcement at the time.
The city has tightened its belt on spending since at least April after it was estimated Dallas could face a potential budget shortfall of more than $30 million due to increased overtime pay, employee insurance claims and low sales tax revenue.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said in a social media post that the council did not know about the furloughs ahead of the announcement on June 30. She called it a "significant management and budget transparency problem."
Council Member Adam Bazaldua said in a statement that it was "incredibly disappointing" to find out the news via media release instead of conversations with council members.
"Oftentimes, council conversations are the only way the resident's perspective gets factored into executive decisions," Bazaldua said. "This is not a detail we should gloss over.
However, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson — who is chair of the Committee on Government Efficiency — said it was a difficult, but necessary decision given the city's current fiscal outlook.
He said in a statement that he supported Tolbert's operational decisions in order to present a balanced budget to the council.
"I support her efforts to responsibly manage the City's finances while remaining committed to delivering essential services to our residents," Johnson said.
He added that he would donate three days of his council member salary to stand in solidarity with city employees.
Got a tip? Email Megan Cardona at mcardona@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you!
