City Budget Crisis

1. Seattle libraries and other city departments will see budget and employee cuts over the summer. The mayor plans to cut $13.3 million from the 2009 budget and spend $5 milion of an extra fund.
2. The city must close a budget gap due to low tax revenue and the worst economic crisis the city has seen.
3. "Most city departments will take between a 1 and 3 percent cut. Some will delay purchases of computer equipment. Others will reduce expenses for travel, interns, postage, office supplies. The mayor plans to cut $400,000 he set aside for public toilets when the city's automated public toilets were declared a failure and removed from downtown. He will close the Atlantic Street Nursery, which provides plants for parks, and cut some parks maintenance."
4. City employees plan to picket outside of City Hall. Libraries will close for one week at the end of August.