The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday voted to override a mayoral veto and fund evening hours at seven branch libraries.
In passing the mayor’s proposed 2015 budget last week, the city council chose to make a series of changes to the proposed library budget.
The amendments included redirecting $345,000 from a parking fund to open seven branch libraries from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The decision restores schedules that were trimmed during the recession.
The libraries already are open into the evening on Mondays and Wednesdays.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman later line-item vetoed the council’s budget amendment, expressing concern that it was not sustainable and that the hours will be cut back in future years, anyway.
The mayor noted that the parking funds were taken from the Housing and Redevelopment Authority budget, and funding for HRA projects such as parking lot improvements, traffic studies and building redevelopment already is difficult to come by.
The city council voted 6-1 to override the mayor’s veto, with council member Dave Thune — a former HRA board chair — casting the sole “no” vote.
The mayor still believes restoring the funding is not only fiscally irresponsible but is doing a disservice to residents, said Coleman’s spokeswoman, Tonya Tennessen. With a projected 2016 budget deficit of about $10 million, the council’s action means the city likely will be cutting the added hours not long after it implements them.
The mayor and the council both supported adding Sunday hours to the Merriam Park library, new funding for library materials and other additions to the $18.3 million library budget.
The seven branch libraries that will see their evening hours extended include Merriam Park, Dayton’s Bluff, Rice Street, Hayden Heights, Riverview, Hamline-Midway and St. Anthony Park.
Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172. Follow him at twitter.com/FrederickMelo.
