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CHARLOTTE -- Mecklenburg County is dealing with about a $30 million shortfall and is asking all departments to prepare to slash up to 5 percent of their current budgets, and those cuts could force four libraries to close their doors.

"I think that's something that's both devastating and demoralizing," said Charles Brown, director of the library, which gets 90 percent of its budget from the county.

Brown says the cutbacks would force layoffs that would necessitate the closure of four libraries and the reduction of hours at others.

"It's one of the nation's leading public libraries and so it would be very difficult and very painful for us to have to begin dismantling the library system," he said.

That possibility is hitting programs that frequent the libraries hard. Leaders with Smart Start, which promotes literacy in children, aren't thrilled about the news.

"If you close libraries, if they close at 6 o’clock after working families get home, that lessens their access to the library," Timika Shafeek-Horton said.

County leaders insist nothing is certain at this point and they haven't closed the book on this year's budget just yet.

Mecklenburg county budget director Hyong Yi says the shortfall is largely a result of lagging sales tax revenue. A final decision on how much money each program will have to cut out of its budget is expected within the next two weeks.

The fiscal year ends June 30.