Mike Del Grande says libraries will suffer a 10 per cent budget cut whether they like it or not

Though the Toronto library board may have rebuffed the mayor’s demand for a 10 per cent spending cut, budget chief Mike Del Grande is sticking to his guns. According to the Star, the budget chief responded, “If that’s their position, they will get the funding that is 10 per cent less, and we’ll leave it up to them to figure out how to [allocate] it.” In other words, council can still impose cuts if it wants to—although by now it should be clear that reducing library spending is akin to dismantling a political time bomb. Del Grande has also said councillors opposed to cuts should look for creative sources of cash, and the Star cites his proposal of a $1 increase to indoor drop-in swimming fees for children and seniors as a way to save nutrition programs—which suggests that Del Grande doesn’t quite understand what it is about the proposed cuts that’s making people so upset. Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »