The St. Paul (Minn.) Public Library could become an independent city agency under a plan debated at a public city council meeting March 26, although it faces stern opposition by Mayor Randy Kelly.
The plan, in the works for four years, would establish a library board with an independent budget instead of one that is embedded in the city’s general fund. City council member Mike Harris said removing the library budget from the general fund would ensure library funding in good fiscal times as well as in bad. As an independent body, the library would be able to issue bonds for capital projects. According to the March 27 Minneapolis Star Tribune, the council could approve the plan in early April.
Kelly expressed his opposition in a statement read at the meeting by Deputy Mayor Dennis Flaherty, who explained that the proposed ordinance would raise taxes and hamper other city services. The 15-minute statement was so strongly worded that it prompted council member Chris Coleman to quip, “we usually get the veto message after we pass on this.” Council member Pat Harris, who sponsored the ordinance, called the idea of reduced services “fear-mongering” and called Flaherty’s speech “spectacular in its misinformation.”
Under the ordinance, the mayor would appoint the library director and veto actions of the board, which would be composed of city council members.
Posted March 31, 2003.