Aurora Public Library To Explore Staff Furloughs Amid Coronavirus

AURORA, IL — Leaders of the Aurora Public Library are searching for ways to offset an expected dip in revenues as its facilities remain closed amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus. Their plans could include employee furloughs, with the library’s board of directors discussing several cost-cutting options during its April 22 virtual meeting.

Andrew Smith, president of the library’s board, said senior staff members should begin looking at plans to furlough employees “sooner than later.”

“I don’t think it has to be wholesale, everyone at once, but I do think it needs to potentially be different phases that we would go through in furloughing our employees or laying them off, whatever term you want to use,” Smith said during the meeting. “I know it’s ugly and it's very unpleasant to even discuss, but I think that’s something that we face as our reality right now that we need to really consider.”

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Joe Filapek, vice president of the board, said he has only heard of a few Illinois libraries furloughing employees and urged the board to consider furloughs as a last resort for cutting costs.

“Our staff and library is going to have this huge role in helping our community — job-seeking resources, navigating unemployment, small business resources, doing all those things we do. Not to mention the void we can fill with the schools being closed,” Filapek said.

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Library Director Michaela Haberkern said she would soon start furlough conversations with staff members and the board’s finance committee. The Aurora Public Library’s three locations have been closed since Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a stay-at-home order last month.

The public library’s immediate financial future depends on the collection of upcoming property taxes, according to the board’s financial advisor, Jamie Rachlin, of Meristem Advisors.

The library can survive several “revenue doomsday” scenarios in which property taxes are under-collected, Rachlin said, but the library could run out of money by July if tax collection is delayed entirely due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Property Tax Late Fees Waived By Kane County Treasurer

Rachlin urged board members to keep a close eye on how Aurora’s four county governments are dealing with upcoming property-tax payments.

Kane County officials waived late fees for residents who pay the first installment of their property taxes by July 1, while Kendall County property owners have until Aug. 10 to pay without penalty. DuPage County officials are discussing property-tax relief measures. Taxpayers in Will County have not yet received any relief on first-installment payments, with the county treasurer’s website stating “only legislative action can provide relief for taxpayers.”