Detroit’s Public Library system is in the midst of a structural assessment of its main library and branches, and the price tag for capital repairs could be upwards of $300 million.
Detroit Public Library Chief Financial Officer Antonio Brown said the library commission approved a contract for the study on Feb. 17, and he estimates the findings will be delivered by early September. But the projects will easily range from $200 million to $300 million, and “I’m not going to blink at it,” he said.
“I anticipate this number is going to be a big number, a large number,” he told City Council members during a March 13 budget hearing. “We’re going to use the report to help guide us in creating our priorities for capital planning and then ‘how do we pay for it’ is going to be the next step.”
Brown noted that the city hasn’t had any new libraries in four decades and the main branch alone is 400,000 square feet and needs significant investment for structural, back-of-house repairs and foundational needs. Other needs range from flooring and roofing, lighting and HVAC.
Detroit City Council Member Scott Benson noted that the library is the fourth largest millage taxing authority on Detroit property taxes. City leaders are weighing tax reforms and the library is a key area to evaluate, he said.
“But, if you all show that there is a need for that (millage rate), maybe we shouldn’t touch that moving forward,” he said
Council members approved a motion from Benson during the hearing to add to a closing resolution prepared at the end of the budgeting process to encourage Sheffield’s administration and the library commission and council to work on the prospect of issuing bonds for capital improvements for the Detroit Public Library.
Benson noted a confidential legal memorandum on the library’s ability to issue bonds on its own. The council voted last Tuesday to lift the privilege on the document. The memo from Miller Canfield obtained by BridgeDetroit was sent to Detroit Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett, concluding that there is “no statutory authority for the DLP to issue debt in its own name to be used for library purposes.”
Bonds issued for DPL’s capital improvements would need to be issued by the city, it adds.
Benson told BridgeDetroit after Tuesday’s formal session that the library cannot unilaterally go out for bond debt. It was important to make the legal opinion public to begin conversations about viable options, he said.
“What we have is my grandmother’s library. I want my great-grandson’s library and to do that they need to put in some significant capital improvements into the library and to shore up the existing main branch, it needs to be cutting edge,” he said. “And we need to look at building a couple more new branches so we can be cutting edge …”
The Detroit Public Library has about 85 staff vacancies – partly because of several branch closures – and is prioritizing customer service representatives, which are entry-level positions.
Some branch reopening plans are on the horizon. Brown said the Monteith Branch is projected to reopen in late 2026 or early 2027, the Skillman Branch is slated to reopen in 2027 and the Knapp Branch closed in January. Its reopening date is unclear.
There is other positive news for the library, too. Brown said that its budget is balanced for salaries, operating, debt and pension obligations and the DPL has a $72 million fund balance. Plus, the library system has an additional $2 million in revenue annually flowing into its budget via the passage of Proposal L. With the passage, the Downtown Development Authority is no longer capturing incremental property tax revenue from the Detroit Public Library.
Proposal L gained support from 84% of Detroit voters and renewed the property tax of 3.9943 mills, or $3.9943 per $1,000 of taxable property value, for 10 years. The renewal, according to the library, combined two millages voters approved in 2014, which expired in June 2025.
– Nushrat Rahman contributed
Other budget topics of intrigue:
- Eastern Market Corporation said discussions are underway for a potential pilot program that would allow Detroit Public Schools Community District to purchase fresh produce from Detroit’s urban farmers.
- DDOT
- The Detroit Land Bank Authority plans to launch an AI chatbot in April. The land bank received 67,000 calls in 2025.
- The Department of Appeals and Hearings launched a text messaging service in December to notify property owners of unpaid judgments. It also contracts with a law firm to help with collections.
- The Detroit Department of Transportation plans to launch a year-round free bus program for K-12 students and work with the mayor’s education liaison to reduce absenteeism and increase access to youth activities and extracurricular programs.
Click here for our full budget coverage in collaboration with Outlier Media and Detroit Documenters.
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Detroit’s public library system is lagging behind other major cities, feeling decades behind in its modernization. It’s time for a complete overhaul, starting from the ground up, with new or expanded neighborhood branches that include community components for kids like study and play safe zones. I wish the city would prioritize capital funding for such essential services, perhaps by requiring donations from large development companies receiving sweetheart deals.
We’re a little too focused on trying to build new libraries and stuff them with “state-of-the-art” somethings to make ourselves feel good I think because we’re still without all our remaining branches open. The library should really be capable of task prioritization so that branches get the deferred maintenance they need done before we start looking towards work we don’t need yet.