St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter is proposing to reduce the number of sworn officers in the St. Paul Police Department by five while cutting the 16-week fire training academy by two weeks.
Carter plans to add a $5-per-day fee to the city’s after-school “Rec Check” rec center program, though students on free or reduced school lunch would be exempt.
In all, some $4 million in spending reductions will impact every city department. He also is asking for a 4.85 percent tax levy increase.
The mayor unveiled the proposals during his 2020 budget address.
“None of these reductions is ideal,” said Carter, speaking at the new Frogtown Community Center on Como Avenue. “They represent a set of very difficult and challenging decisions, over which my team and I have agonized greatly.”
AYD MILL ROAD TO BE ‘COMPLETE STREET’
Meanwhile, to the surprise of many, the mayor announced that Ayd Mill Road will be resurfaced into a “complete street” during a mill-and-overlay project next year. Car traffic will be restricted to the westernmost two lanes as the eastern side is converted into a bikeway.
The pothole-riddled thoroughfare runs from Interstate 35E up to Selby Avenue, five blocks south of Interstate 94.
Streets citywide could see speed limit reductions as part of an effort to support pedestrians and reduce wear on the roads, Carter said.
“Say what?” said Chris Holbrook, a libertarian activist and city council candidate, in a Facebook post following the mayor’s speech. “A 4.8 percent property tax hike to eliminate half of Ayd Mill Road and (reduce) some police? Is this a joke?”
Others were more impressed.
“A very honest budget proposal by Mayor Melvin Carter given the fiscal realities and inherited issues which need to be addressed,” said attorney Rich Ginsberg, who sits on the Metropolitan Airports Commission, in a Facebook post.
STAY THE COURSE BUDGET
Sticking close to previously announced priorities, Carter’s proposal funds college savings accounts for school children as of Jan. 1, expands rec center hours and upgrades parking meters. The additional rec center hours come in response to earlier public school start times in the city.
The mayor’s budget also funds a library social worker, a network of electric vehicle charging stations and a new deputy director of Human Resources to improve city hiring practices.
What won’t it do?
It won’t create a $400,000 education and outreach budget for the city’s paid sick leave mandate and the citywide minimum wage increase that takes effect Jan. 1, as labor advocates had wanted.
Instead, the outreach budget would grow by $80,000. In fact, spending within several city departments barely rises above the rate of inflation.
If adopted, the proposed $622 million city budget represents a $10 million spending increase over the adopted 2019 budget of $612 million.
The $164 million property tax levy represents a 4.85 percent increase over the 2019 levy of $156 million.
The owner of a median-value St. Paul home — $199,800 in 2019 — would see the city portion of property taxes increase roughly $55 next year, on top of county and school district levies.
Carter noted that St. Paul’s property tax base — the total value of all properties in the city — grew by 6.4 percent in the past year, and the only way to capture some of that value increase is to increase the levy.
That said, members of the St. Paul City Council have urged the mayor to avoid a repeat of the 2018 budget season, when the council spent several months whittling down Carter’s proposed 11.5 percent levy increase to 10.5 percent.
Pledging to lift the veil on the general budget process, Carter held a series of outreach sessions with residents around the city during the past several months.
The mayor said residents indicated their top investment priorities are affordable housing and mental health resources. The majority of the attendees supported a property tax increase to pay for those services.
The St. Paul City Council, which has until early December to modify and approve the 2020 budget and tax levy, will host its own budget discussion with the public at 6 p.m. Aug. 28 at City Hall, 15 West Kellogg Boulevard.
A $1 MILLION NEIGHBORHOOD FUND
The mayor’s “Our People, Our Places, Our Prosperity” budget includes a new approach toward neighborhood-based city construction projects, such as playground overhauls and new bike amenities.
Neighborhood activists had complained that the old capital improvement budget process pit high-priority public safety and road improvements against more mundane public needs.
Rather than compete with police and fire stations for funding, residents and community organizations will be able to apply, every other year, for a portion of a $1 million grant fund.
Among the budget considerations this year, low-income neighborhoods such as Frogtown, Payne-Phalen, Dayton’s Bluff and the North End are still in the process of regaining housing value lost during the recession of 2007-2009, and will be the hardest hit by levy increases.
In other words, even a zero-dollar increase in the city levy would result in a property tax increase of $283 to a median-value Frogtown home — $154,000 — after an 18.6 percent value increase and the proposed county levy is factored in.
The mayor’s proposed 4.85 percent increase to the city tax levy likely adds an additional $37.
In his address, the mayor praised several initiatives that rolled out or gained momentum this year.
They included a Fair Housing Policy initiative and a “Familiar Faces” pilot program that focuses on the needs of mentally ill residents who frequently come into contact with law enforcement.
Carter noted that given the impact of rising labor costs and general inflation, the budget process began with the need to close a $17 million year-to-year gap by controlling expenses, though a $4 million increase in state general aid helped offset some of that budget pressure.
POLICE BUDGET UP, SWORN LEVELS DROP
The mayor’s proposal increases the St. Paul Police Department budget from $100.7 million to $105.2 million, a $4.5 million increase. That would cover wage increases for officers, which the city agreed to in a 2018 contract.
Spending within the Fire Department would grow from $66 million to $68.4 million, a $2.4 million increase.
Together, police and fire make up approximately 54 percent of the city budget.
Despite the police budget increase, the mayor’s proposal decreases the department’s authorized strength from 635 to 630 officers. There are currently 610 officers working in St. Paul. They’re not at full staffing due to retirements and attrition.
The reduction means Police Chief Todd Axtell would hire five fewer officers for the police academy that starts this fall.
Carter’s announcement came soon after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey presented his 2020 budget, which includes adding 14 officers.
“Chief Axtell is certainly concerned about the ramifications these cuts will have on our community, crime victims and officers alike,” Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman, said Thursday. “Especially during a time when officers are dealing with historic demands for police services.”
911 calls were up 23 percent last year compared to 2014, according to police department statistics.
The fire department’s firefighter academy was traditionally 16 weeks, but they tried 14 weeks of training this year, which will continue next year, said Interim Fire Chief Butch Inks.
“We identified ways to provide firefighters with their skill set and allow them to hit the streets a little earlier” while getting on-the-job training, Inks said.
The shortened academy saves nearly $130,000.
Elsewhere, spending increases are more modest.
The St. Paul City Council budget of $3.72 million would climb to $3.87 million. The budget for the Department of Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity would grow from $3.38 million to $3.5 million. The budget for the Department of Safety and Inspections would grow from $20.6 million to $21.2 million.
Carter, in his budget address, acknowledged uncertainty over how lawsuits over organized trash collection and right-of-way street maintenance could further impact city spending.
The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments surrounding the city’s trash collection system on Tuesday.
Some specific spending items include:
- $250,000 to support expanded rec center hours.
- $80,000 for additional outreach staff related to paid sick leave and the city’s new minimum wage.
- $30,000 for the new Office of Financial Empowerment to partner with nonprofits and help low-income residents open bank accounts.
- $350,000 to upgrade existing parking meters, including converting coin-operated meters into smart meters, and improve Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.
- $161,000 for a new deputy director of human resources.
- $97,000 for a library social worker.
- $750,000 for electric vehicle charging hubs across the city, in partnership with HOURCAR, Xcel Energy Minneapolis.
Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report.