The Cumberland County (N.C.) Board of Commissioners restored $150,000 to the library system’s 2002 budget, which was to have been cut by about 18%, saving the jobs of 22 part-time workers who would have been laid off June 30.
The library system had originally expected to lay off 69 people, but with the extra funds only five part-time workers will lose their jobs and 40 vacant positions will be eliminated. Many people who were on the layoff list have resigned, Director Jerry Thrasher told the Fayetteville Observer June 13.
All county departments had been asked to submit proposals with 15% and 18% cuts to help overcome a projected $30-million shortfall in the county’s 2002 budget, the Observer reported April 11. In the final budget, which was approved June 11, the commissioners agreed to appropriate $1.7 million from savings to put back into the budget.
The library will still reduce its hours as planned when the new fiscal year begins July 1.
Posted June 25, 2001.