Coleman vetoes council effort to expand library hours

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman on Monday vetoed the City Council's move to extend evening hours at seven branch libraries, saying that the funding source the council would tap isn't "steady and permanent" enough to support more hours in the long run.

"While I understand the appeal of adding even more hours to libraries, this goal must be achieved while maintaining a bedrock principle of my administration — structural balance," Coleman wrote in his veto letter to the council.

The mayor has followed the practice of using ongoing funding sources to pay for ongoing services.

His argument, however, may not carry enough weight with the council, which approved the measure last week on a 6-1 vote and needs only five votes to override a mayoral veto. The council is expected to take the override vote Wednesday.

The flap between the mayor and the council was the only real controversy amid the council's passage last week of most of Coleman's $515 million budget.

The council gave the mayor the $54 million he wanted to repair and rebuild the city's deteriorating streets, $42 million for his 8-80 Vitality Fund to invest in city park and entertainment amenities, and paid parental leave for city employees.

But in an effort to extend library hours without enlarging the property tax levy, council members decided to dip into the parking fund — a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) fund of city parking ramp revenues that is typically used for economic development projects.

Only one council member, Dave Thune, opposed the council's action. Thune said that the parking fund is a prime source for economic development projects in council wards, a point that the mayor echoed in his veto message.

"Taking away this flexible source limits our ability to do vital projects across the city that could lead to job growth and revitalization in neighborhoods across St. Paul," Coleman wrote.

If the council overrides Coleman's veto, the following library branches will be open next year from 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays: Dayton's Bluff, Hamline-Midway, Hayden Heights, Merriam Park, Rice Street, Riverview and St. Anthony Park.

Coleman called his support for libraries "second to none." He approved the council's request for Sunday hours for the Merriam Park library, which was included in the budget, and noted that every library save downtown is open at least two nights per week.

"Had the additional hours been paid for by a stable and permanent revenue source — perhaps by cutting in other areas — I could have supported such a change," he wrote.

Council President Kathy Lantry disagrees that the parking fund isn't a stable source. Even with the money budgeted for longer hours next year, she said, the fund still has an unrestricted cash balance of more than $600,000. And ramp revenues aren't expected to decline, she said.

Coleman and the council this fall closed a $9.6 million deficit with new revenues, $4 million in spending cuts, higher inspection fees and state aid.