The Des Moines Public Library will eliminate Sunday service hours at two of its largest branches, Central and Franklin Avenue, after Oct. 25, the Board of Trustees decided Wednesday. The change is a direct response to a $750,000 budget cut — part of a broader effort by city officials to cut costs after a new state law created a $12 million shortfall in the budget.
“We have protected service hours for our patrons for many years,” DMPL Director Melissa McCollum said in a press release Thursday morning. “Although this decision does less harm in terms of access than other options the board considered, we know closing on Sundays means fewer people will be able to use our libraries and resources.”
DMPL staff were already strained before the budget cut became official this week.
“Over the past three fiscal years, the library has lost the equivalent of five full-time positions due to reductions in city funding,” according to the DMPL release. “Additionally, six full-time equivalent positions have been held vacant in the past year in anticipation of the funding cuts. This has made staffing the libraries seven days a week extremely challenging.”
The Des Moines City Council voted Monday to approve $11.5 million in staff and service cuts across departments, including nearly $1 million from police and fire, $900,000 from parks and recreation, and $800,000 from neighborhood services and $750,000 from the libraries.
Fifteen full-time city employees have been laid off, and 28 vacant full-time positions were eliminated. These include community policing, civil rights and fire investigation, prevention and educational positions.
“Nothing we’re doing here is going to make government more accessible,” council member Rob Barron told IPR. “Nothing here is going to make government work better for any of our people, and we know that and we don’t want to do this. But we have to make the numbers work at some point in time.”
Despite the reluctance expressed by city council members, the recommended cuts were approved 6-1. Linda Westergaard was the sole council member to vote no, citing the strain on police and fire.
A law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds in May, SF 2472, was touted by Republicans as a way of reining in local spending to lower property taxes. Ten percent of a home’s taxable value is exempted from property taxes, while cities’ general funds are capped at 2 percent annual revenue growth, with exceptions for schools, new construction, insurance, elections, employee benefits and levies for debt service.
“Spending is what drives taxes — always has, always will. And the most reliable way to protect taxpayers is to limit the growth of government itself,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said in her 2026 Condition of the State address.
In addition, the law includes a 10 percent homestead tax exemption and phases out state reimbursement of homestead credits to municipalities. The Legislative Services Agency estimated a $1.1 billion loss in revenue for local governments from these measures alone.
Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen called Monday’s vote “very difficult.”
“No one wants to be here,” she said, “and unfortunately this is ongoing. This does not end tonight, so we are all going to be working hard to figure out ways to mitigate what has happened to us.”
More cuts are expected in the coming months, as City Manager Scott Sanders and other staff work to find some $5.5 million to balance the budget by January 2027. This could include more cuts to library services.
“We encourage the community to stay engaged in the budget discussions in the coming months,” said Tim Hickman, president of the DMPL Board of Trustees.
The elimination of Sunday hours is expected to save DMPL roughly $500,000, leaving a quarter million for the Board of Trustees to find. McCollum told KCCI she hopes to form partnerships that can open new revenue sources and mitigate the damage. In the meantime, Des Moines residents can show support by signing up for a library card and utilizing the benefits.
