Spokane City Council Delays Vote
on Restoring Saturday Hours
Citing budgetary uncertainties, the Spokane, Washington, city council deferred a scheduled July 24 vote on restoring Saturday hours to the downtown library. The hours were cut last December following the passage of the statewide antitax measure Initiative 695.
The vote would have devoted $121,300 in state I-695 replacement money to reopening the library, but the July 25 Spokane Spokesman-Review reported that several councilors said they would not support the measure in the face of a lawsuit over a downtown mall’s parking garage that is expected to cost an additional $560,000. City Manager Hank Miggins said that if the funds did not go to the library they would be kept in the city’s reserve fund.
Mayor John Talbott said he would vote against the fund transfer because the library board was unwilling to eliminate staff and make other cuts. The council was persuaded by the measure’s backers to delay the vote for two weeks to allow library and city staff to discuss ways to economize.
Posted July 31, 2000.
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