By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-917244.mp3
Dallas, TX – The Dallas City budget proposed for next year calls for 450 layoffs, pay cuts for employees who remain, and cuts in rec center and library hours.
City Manager Mary Suhm says budgets for parks and libraries are cut 30%.
Suhm: The neighborhood branch libraries will maintain the same hours that they had this past year. The materials budget for the libraries will be about the same. The change in the libraries will be the level of staffing within the branches, and at Central, the entire library will only be open Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The first and second floors will be open 40 hours a week.
Water rates go up 3% in the new budget, but the sanitation fee drops 9 cents.
City employees will get 8 unpaid furlough days next year, plus pay cuts, for an average 5% decrease in salaries.
The City Council will weigh in on the proposed budget Monday.