The county mayor announced Monday he is holstering his veto pen.

Turns out, the District Attorney's Office has determined Corroon's veto power is too wobbly to wield on this issue.

So could the mayor overrule the council if he chose to?

"Maybe yes, maybe no," he said. "It's not quite clear. My intent is not to exercise a veto power when it is uncertain whether I have that power or not."

Corroon reaffirmed his opposition Monday to a November referendum, saying residents have too little information to make an educated decision, but vowed not to block such a vote.

"I would love to see the citizens have an opportunity to vote," he said. " But I would rather have them vote for a plan than a split."

That leaves the nine-member County Council with the last word - which is sounding more and more like a "no." As of last week, the council leaned 6-2 against breaking up the Granite district and 5-3 against splintering Jordan.

Councilman Joe Hatch still hasn't taken a position.

All the cities seeking to divide the districts already have signed on. Alta, Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Midvale and Sandy have voted to put the proposed Jordan split on the ballot. And South Salt Lake and Holladay have agreed to a referendum splintering Granite.

But both proposals need the County Council's nod to move forward. The County Clerk's Office has asked for a decision and ballot language by Sept. 1 to follow election code and provide time to prepare the ballots for November.

West-siders are poised to sue to prevent a referendum, but now Corroon won't intercede.

What muddies the mayor's veto power is this: the County Council will decide by "resolution" whether to put the breakaway districts on the ballot. But mayors can't veto resolutions.

This resolution, however, seems more significant than most. It may even rise to the level of county policy - which Corroon could veto.

Corroon said he isn't interested in a legal test. As for the school-district splits?

"It's the County Council's call."

jstettler@sltrib.com ---

* JULIA LYON contributed to this story.