Saint Paul Library Board reviews 2026 budget proposal; hours cut at Arlington Hills

The Saint Paul Library Board on Aug. 6 heard a presentation of the Saint Paul Public Library’s proposed 2026 budget from Director Maureen Hartman, who outlined reductions to staffing and materials spending, one-time special-fund moves for safety and interim space costs, and capital investments for future projects.

Hartman told the board the proposal eliminates 1.3 full-time equivalent positions (FTE) across the system and repurposes one FTE in operations. She said the single largest service impact of those reductions is a planned 0.8 FTE vacancy in public services that, if not restored, will require reducing Arlington Hills Library’s public hours by four per week. “We identified that the busiest times at the Arlington Hills libraries are in the afternoon and the evening and the mornings that they have story time,” Hartman said. “This proposal reduces their hours by four a week. Two days a week, they will open up at noon instead of 10.”

Nut graf: The presentation framed the cuts as part of a citywide directive to departments to identify proportional reductions to the general fund; the library’s proposal mixes permanent staffing changes, one-time special-fund uses…