Title
Expressing reporting commitments and additional City Council priorities related to the 2025 Budget.
Body
WHEREAS, in accordance with RES 24-1763, the City Council is adopting the 2025 Budget in collaboration with Mayor Carter; and
WHEREAS, from August to December, following Mayor Carter’s proposed 2025 Budget Address, the City Council participated in budget events hosted by the Mayor’s office, held ward-specific meetings to solicit input on the budget, conducted the annual city-wide budget community meeting, and conducted the annual Truth-in-Taxation hearing on the proposed budget; and
WHEREAS, the adopted 2025 Budget reflects the result of this intensive engagement with the community and between the Council and Administration, as laid out in RES 24-1763: Adopting the 2025 Budget and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to express budget-related reporting and information-sharing commitments agreed to by the Administration in partnership with the Council as a result of the 2025 budget negotiations; and
WHEREAS, the City Council also wishes to express its commitment toward priorities that were discussed but unfunded this budget season, and that the Council desires to prioritize in the next and future budget cycles; so
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council requests regular reports on police overtime spending beginning in the first quarter of 2025. Reports should include data on overtime funds spent by sworn officer type and activity type; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council requests ongoing reporting on vacancies across departments, including the length of time a position has been vacant, the stage of the hiring process, and when the position is expected to be filled in order to support departments in hiring for approved positions as well as find savings for future budgets; and
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council recognizes the need for additional funding and clearer expectations of District Councils and requests the Department of Planning and Economic Development to engage District Council leaders on a proposal for increased funding that can be presented to the Administration by June 1, 2025. This proposal should build on the District Council leaders’ most recent proposal for increased funding; and
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council request that the Office of Financial Services initiate a debt capacity study to ascertain the appropriate level of Capital Improvement Bonding that should be issued to maintain the City’s AAA credit rating and also expand our ability to maintain city infrastructure; and
BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council requests that all departments, including the St. Paul Fire Department and St. Paul Police Department, review their contracts with outside entities to ensure that those entities are fully reimbursing the City for its costs; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council commits to pursuing funding in future years for priorities that were key topics this budget season and continue to be areas of Council interest:
• Exploring avenues for increasing funding to district councils citywide so that these neighborhood organizations can better retain staff and improve their outreach to diverse communities as the public engagement body of the City of Saint Paul
• Reviewing and improving Council organizational capacity, from additional attorney support to exploring updating the Councilmember role to full-time status and/or pay increase on par with comparable municipalities and other staff needs; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council took steps this year to utilize the franchise fees adopted under Ord 24-32 <https://stpaul.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6896969&GUID=7C8D9558-BD63-45F4-9F7B-EF3801677D1D> to fund critical investments in climate crisis mitigation and sustainability programs, and commits in future years to ensuring franchise fees are primarily used to fund these programs so that ongoing, stable funding is available for our City actions on climate; and
BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council recommends that the Administration initiate a transition to a two-year budgeting cycle to allow more time for planning, implementation and evaluation of city programs and services between budget cycles; and be it
FINALLY RESOLVED, that the City Council reflects these commitments publicly and looks forward to pursuing progress toward these commitments in the 2026 budget season in partnership with the Administration.