St. Paul mulls grim scenarios for major cuts in city services

Scenarios for service cuts in St. Paul include closing a library, closing at least three recreation centers, turning off half the streetlights and laying off or leaving vacant hundreds of jobs, according to memos from city department directors.

Mayor Chris Coleman asked the directors to see what a 14 percent budget cut would look like as the city braces for state aid cuts. That percentage, across all departments, would translate into about $30 million. No decisions have been made on what to cut, and the scenarios will all be discussed.

Coleman gave the memos to City Council members and the city's state legislative delegation Thursday.

The city is trying to replenish cash reserves used to plug a $5.7 million hole in the 2008 budget. City officials also have been working on options to fill a nearly $8 million gap in 2009. A $17 million cut is anticipated for 2010.

Of course, those numbers are likely to change.

Minnesota faces an estimated $6 billion to $7 billion budget deficit in the next biennium, and a portion will be passed down to local governments in the form of aid cuts.

So far, the city has set aside about $4.3 million in contingency spending in 2009, as well as $4.5 million by keeping vacant jobs open.

Coleman's priorities have been to talk honestly about costs of services, minimize layoffs and listen to public input.

"The decisions we make in the coming months will be guided by a long-term and strategic vision for St. Paul," he wrote in a letter Thursday to St. Paul legislators.

In their memos, the department directors talked about the cuts in somber tones. A sampling of worst-case scenarios:

• Fire: Lay off 56 firefighters. Defer purchase of equipment. Cancel the 2009 entrance test.

• Libraries: Close the Hamline branch. Cut about 120 open hours a week and keep neighborhood branches open for 48 hours and four larger libraries for 52 hours. Reduce the books and materials budget by $400,000.

• Parks: Close or lease eight recreation center buildings, Baker, Front, Griggs, Margaret, Prosperity, South St. Anthony, Sylvan and Wilder. That would leave the city with 25 rec centers, down from 42 in 2006.

• Police: Lay off 67 sworn officers and 23 civilians. Hold open 51 vacant officer positions. Restructure or stop the horse patrol.

• Public works: Turn off half the city's streetlights. Raise the threshold from 3 inches to 4 inches during snow emergencies. Reduce street sweeping.

Council President Kathy Lantry said she looked through the memos and called them a good starting point. "We have to balance a good discussion with being speedy," she said.

In another cost-saving measure, 54 people have applied for voluntary early retirement packages offered by the city. About 180 people able to take an unreduced pension were eligible for the retirement package, which paid up to $20,000 in financial or medical compensation. City officials had expected that about 30 people would apply. Also, 10 people have offered to reduce their hours or take leaves of absence.

The early retirement applicants have until Feb. 27 to rescind their decision and continue working. It's likely some will decide to stay, said Angie Nalezny, human resources director. A cost-savings analysis hasn't been completed.

The departments with the most applicants are fire, 13; parks and recreation, 11; police, seven, and water, five.

The city has about 3,300 employees.

"We're sitting at the table, working with our administration, best-case to worst-case," said Mike Smith, president of the firefighters union.

Chris Havens • 612-673-4148