Title
Amending Appendix A-2 of the Administrative Code to establish the creation of the City Council Public Safety & Community Wellness Committee.
Body
WHEREAS, over half of the City of Saint Paul's budget is allocated to public safety, encompassing critical services such as policing, fire response, emergency medical services, and related programs, making it essential to have a dedicated body providing input on the largest portion of the city's budget; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes the importance of providing budgetary oversight and accountability to public safety departments, including the Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD), Saint Paul Fire Department (SPFD), City Attorney’s Office (CAO), and the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) to ensure the effective and transparent use of public resources; and
WHEREAS, the Public Safety & Community Wellness Committee shall engage with community organizations, stakeholders, and subject-matter experts for input on public safety matters, including reporting findings, recommendations, and budgetary proposals to the City Council.
WHEREAS, the City Council acknowledges challenges such as high overtime spending, recruitment and retention issues, program transparency, and resource gaps in public safety services, including for homelessness, encampments, evictions, and chemical dependency; and
WHEREAS, the Public Safety & Community Wellness Committee will convene regularly to provide a structured process for evaluating the financial and program performance of public safety departments and will work with community organizations and subject-matter experts to improve service delivery; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council hereby establishes the Public Safety & Community Wellness Committee to provide budgetary oversight of SPPD, SPFD, CAO, and DSI with a focus on transparent budgeting, program evaluation, policy development to improve public safety and wellness, and to build trust within the community; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Chapter A-2 of the Appendices of the Saint Paul Administrative Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
1. - Council committees.
That in order to provide for the efficient operation of the legislative branch of city government, the following subcommittees of the council are hereby established:
(1) Finance and budget.
(2) City operations.
(3) Community and economic development.
(4) Audit committee.
(5) Public Safety & Community Wellness Committee
2. - Membership.
Each council committee shall be composed of at least four (4) members, one (1) of whom shall be the president of the council who shall serve in an ex officio capacity and which members, including the chair, shall be named by the president of the council with the advice and consent of the council. The president of the council may also name, with the advice and consent of the council, alternate members to any committee, who may serve in the absence of regular members of such committees. The members and alternates of the council committee, including the chair, shall serve on such committee at the pleasure of the president of the council. Alternate members, when serving in the absence of a regular committee member, shall have all the powers, functions and duties of regular committee members, including constituting a quorum, voting and participation in the committee affairs in all respects.
Whenever there are not sufficient members or alternates to constitute a quorum at any regularly scheduled committee meeting and the chair deems it necessary to do so, the chair of that committee may appoint another member of the council who may be present to serve temporarily as an alternate member of the committee. Provided, however, that only one (1) such appointment may be made at any one (1) meeting of the committee.
3. - Functions; participation, in general.
It shall be the duty of each council committee to consider all ordinances or resolutions referred to it by the city council and where permitted by law to conduct all public hearings required by law. All committee agendas shall be cablecasted according to the notification procedures currently established for cablecasting of agendas for city council meetings. The meetings of the council committees shall be open to the public except for those instances permitted by state law, and such committee may hear testimony or public comment as referred by the secretary to the council or as the committee deems proper. All councilmembers may attend any committee meetings. Council committees shall report to the council upon all ordinances or resolutions referred to them, either with or without recommendation, unless the president or councilmember introducing such ordinance or resolution shall withdraw it or the president reassign it. The votes of committee members present and other councilmembers present shall be recorded and forwarded to the council. The affirmative vote of either a majority of the committee members or of the council shall be sufficient to return or refer a matter to the council.
4. - Meetings.
(1) All council committees shall hold regular meetings according to a schedule adopted by the members at its first meeting in January of each year. A schedule of such meetings shall be provided all councilmembers, the mayor, city attorney, the city clerk and news media and distributed and published in accordance with state law.
(2) Special committee meetings may be held at the call of the chair. Advance written notice of all special meetings shall be provided all councilmembers, the mayor, city attorney, and city clerk as prescribed by state law and distributed and published in accordance with state law.
(3) A majority of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
(4) A majority vote of the committee shall be required for committee action.
(5) Committees shall keep minutes of all meetings. Committee chairs shall work in conjunction with the director of the council investigation and research center to ensure that the appropriate research, administrative and clerical staff shall be provided for that committee. Committee chairs shall be responsible for approving, by signature, the minutes of committee meetings. A copy of such minutes shall be filed with the city clerk as a public record and a copy provided the council president.
5. - Committee functions in particular.
(1) Finance and budget. The council committee on finance and budget shall establish policy for all capital and operating budgets of all city departments, boards and agencies. In addition, the committee shall assume the responsibility of reviewing capital and operating budget matters submitted to the council and shall be responsible for the consideration of any legislation relating to the personnel of the city, salary questions and labor relations. This committee shall also be responsible for matters related to city franchises.
(2) City operations. The council committee on city operations shall oversee policy development and review and recommend legislation with respect to all city activities except those specifically assigned to other committees. In addition, the committee may respond to administrative proposals that affect these operations.
(3) Community and economic development. The council committee on housing and economic development shall oversee policy development and review and recommend legislation in these areas: The housing and redevelopment authority, housing and economic development by the port authority and the city department of planning and economic development, land use and zoning, improving buildings and especially improving the condition of problem properties, licensing and business regulation, code enforcement and the housing information office.
(4) Audit committee. The council committee on audit shall oversee the evaluation of financial and program performance of city departments to build public trust and ensure outstanding service delivery, transparency and accountability.
(5) Public Safety & Community Wellness committee. The council committee on public safety and community wellness shall provide budgetary oversight of SPPD, SPFD, CAO, and DSI with a focus on transparent budgeting, program evaluation, and policy development to improve public safety and build trust within the community.
6. - Amendments.
This resolution may be amended only by the submission in writing by a member of the council of a notice of intent to amend the same, which notice shall contain the specific proposed amendments. Such notice shall be served upon each member of the council seven (7) days prior to the submission of any resolution amending such rules.