Despite the adoption of Wisconsin Act 12 in the summer of 2023, which provided the first increase in state shared revenue in decades, local governments across Wisconsin are facing intensifying fiscal and service-level challenges that are threatening existing service models and prompting consideration of new approaches. These challenges continue to stem, in part, from the strict property tax levy limits facing Wisconsin municipalities and increasing costs associated with a historically tight labor market and inflationary increases on labor, commodities, vehicles, and equipment.
The city of South Milwaukee has not been immune from such challenges and is now considering how it will continue to provide library services. It has had its own library – the South Milwaukee Public Library – since 1917 and has operated it out of its current building since 1967. As a member of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System, the South Milwaukee Public Library is able to share materials and resources with other municipal libraries in the county for the benefit of its residents.
While proud of the library’s history and its value to the community, South Milwaukee officials face both operating budget challenges and capital challenges that include a need for sizable investment in its library building. Consequently, they are now forced to consider whether other, less costly approaches to providing library services may need to be considered so that other vital city services – including public safety, public health, and public works – can continue to be maintained at appropriate levels.
In this report, we analyze the South Milwaukee Public Library’s current operations and budget, recent trends and changes, and how the library compares with peers in Milwaukee County. We then consider a range of options for the future, including potential financing strategies that could allow the city to maintain its existing library building and service levels, options for reducing the library’s footprint and operating budget, and alternatives that would involve closing the South Milwaukee library and establishing partnerships that would allow residents to access library services in other nearby communities.
For our analysis, we rely on data from the city of South Milwaukee, its library, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), to whom all public libraries in the state report operational and fiscal data. We consider the pros and cons of each of the options considered and their fiscal, programmatic, and governance impacts. Interviews with local officials from the cities of South Milwaukee, Cudahy, and St. Francis, leaders of the Milwaukee County Federated Library System, local developers, and individuals familiar with mixed-use library development projects in other communities complemented our analysis.
We hope this report illuminates the challenge the city of South Milwaukee and its public library face – and potential solutions – and that it helps city administrators, elected officials, and residents chart a sustainable future. Continue reading…