Skillman Southwestern Branch may survive budget cuts

After an outpouring of public concern, it seems as though the Skillman Southwestern Branch Library may survive closure.

Dallas is currently in the process of developing and approving the city manager’s proposed nearly $5 billion budget for FY-2024-25, which asks all non-police and fire departments to make cuts. As part of those cuts, the proposed budget includes the closure of the Skillman Southwestern Branch Library, expected to save the city over $485,000.

City staff pointed to low-program participation, the proximity of nearby libraries such as the Vickery Park Branch Library, and the relative lack of poverty in the area as reasons for their recommendation to close the branch. The library ranked eighth out of 27 total libraries in circulation last year, although the amount of people sitting down and using the space is low compared to other branches, staff said.

Yesterday, City Council voted to tentatively amend the budget to keep the library in operation through the fiscal year after an amendment was put forward by District 9 Councilmember Paula Blackmon, who said an outpour of public opinion led her to act. An online petition in support of the library currently has over 3,000 signatures.

Blackmon’s amendment funds the library through the reappropriation of more than $485,000 from Dallas’s Infastruce Investment Fund, created with expired TIF districts’ funds to spur economic growth in underserved areas through infrastructure investment.

Blackmon told the council that she and the Friends of the Dallas Public Library will work hard to increase program attendance and participation.

District 10 Councilmember Kathy Stewart, who said she drives past the branch often, supported the amendment.

“I understand the importance of a library to a neighborhood,” Stewart said at the meeting. “It grounds it, it gives it a place to have meetings. I mean, my goodness, we’re at the Forest Green Library all the time for meetings.”

It is important to note that the decision is not binding, and that the potential closure will not be definitively ruled out until City Council officially approves on the final budget on Sept 18.