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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Saint Paul Finds $574,290 to Restore Proposed Library and Recreation Cuts
SAINT PAUL, MN (September 18, 2026). Saint Paul Mayor Kaohly Her has proposed restoring funding for the Dayton’s Bluff Library, Highwood Hills Recreation Center and reduced recreation-center hours after updated projections identified $574,290 in additional revenue and savings.
The supplemental 2027 budget proposal, released Thursday, would reverse some of the most controversial reductions included in the mayor’s original August budget.
The largest restoration is $286,722 for the lease and continued operation of the Dayton’s Bluff Library, the only Saint Paul library that had been proposed for closure.
Another $75,000 would restore the full lease at the Highwood Hills Recreation Center.
The proposal would provide $40,501 to restore morning hours at recreation centers, $50,956 for morning hours at the Edgcumbe Recreation Center and $21,611 to preserve holiday access at recreation centers that are not designated as regional hubs.
An additional $99,500 would continue city enforcement of Saint Paul’s separation ordinance, which limits municipal participation in federal civil immigration enforcement.
The funding would come from two sources. Saint Paul expects $274,290 in savings from its transition to even-year municipal elections and approximately $300,000 in additional utility franchise-fee revenue.
Before the supplemental proposal was announced, Ward 7 Councilmember and Budget Chair Cheniqua Johnson said she would seek authorization for a slightly higher maximum property-tax levy to protect the Dayton’s Bluff Library.
Johnson’s amendment would increase the maximum levy from 6.8 percent to 6.93 percent, reserving the $286,722 needed for the library if another funding source could not be secured. She estimated the difference at approximately $2 per household.
The new revenue identified by the mayor could make that additional levy authority unnecessary, although the City Council must still incorporate the supplemental proposal into the final budget.
The council is scheduled to establish Saint Paul’s maximum levy on September 23. That vote will set the highest amount the city could collect, but council members may lower the levy before adopting the final 2027 budget in December.
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