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File #: Ord 25-2    Version: 1
Type: Ordinance Status: Final Adoption
In control: City Council
Final action:
Title: Amending Chapter 6.03 of the City Charter pertaining to the application of Administrative Citations for violations of City Ordinances, based on the recommendation of the Charter Commission pursuant to Minnesota Statute section 410.12, subdivision 7.
Sponsors: Saura Jost, Mitra Jalali
Attachments: 1. Letter re Charter Commission Recommendation to Amend Charter Section 6.03.1, 2. Administrative Citations Public Hearing Notice, 3. RES 24-1572 Transmittal Letter, 4. RES 24-1572, 5. HREEO Ppt Administrative Citations - Charter Commission November 2024, 6. Sustain Saint Paul - Administrative Citations Letter of Support, 7. Saint Paul Regional Labor Federation - Administrative Citations Letter of Support, 8. John Purdy - CCI 24-8 public comment, 9. John Purdy CCI 24-8 public comment2, 10. John Purdy - CCI 24-8 attachment, 11. John Purdy - CCI 24-8 handout, 12. John Purdy - CCI 24-8 handout2, 13. John Purdy - CCI 24-8 handout3, 14. Fort Road Federation - Administrative Fines, 15. UNITE HERE Local 17 - Admin Citations Letter of Support, 16. Administrative Citations - Charter Commission Dec 12 2024 mtg, 17. MN Administrative Citations Comparative Table, 18. Most Populous Cities in the NationAdmin Cites Comparative Table, 19. Chapter_233.___Public_Health__Safety_and_Welfare, 20. City of Minneapolis example - Prince, 21. City of Minneapolis example conclusion - Prince, 22. HREEO Timeline of Case activities 12-10-24, 23. Letter re Charter Commission Recommendation to Amend Charter Section 6.03.1, 24. January 6 public comment, 25. January 7 public comment, 26. January 8 public comment, 27. January 9 public comments, 28. January 10 public comments, 29. January 13 public comments, 30. January 14 public comments, 31. January 15 public comments, 32. January 16 public comments
Title
Amending Chapter 6.03 of the City Charter pertaining to the application of Administrative Citations for violations of City Ordinances, based on the recommendation of the Charter Commission pursuant to Minnesota Statute section 410.12, subdivision 7.
Body

SECTION 1

WHEREAS, all changes to the City Charter must be recommended by the Saint Paul Charter Commission, and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul City Council by RES 24-1572 requested the Saint Paul Charter Commission to review, approve and recommend an amendment to Chapter 6.03 of the City Charter, and
WHEREAS on November 26, 2024 and December 12, 2024 the Charter Commission considered the matter and held a public hearing on the proposed Amendment, and
WHEREAS on December 12, 2024, the Charter Commission voted, 12 in favor and 3 opposed, to recommend Chapter 6.03.1 of the City Charter be amended as follows by CCI 24-8 :
Section 6.03.1 - Legislative ordinances
Subdivision 1. Every act of the council which defines, licenses, regulates, suppresses, prevents or prohibits any act, business or person, grants or modifies or modifies any franchise, imposes a civil penalty or is in any way an exercise of legislative powers, shall be done by legislative ordinance. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, such ordinances shall require an affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the council.
Subdivision 2. With the exception of the failure to pay fines or fees, the council may establish, alter, amend or repeal an ordinance to impose a civil penalty for each violation of a city ordinance. For each ordinance the City would like to enforce using a civil penalty, the Council must adopt or amend an ordinance (a) outlining the amount of fine and other penalties that can be imposed for a first or subsequent violation of that ordinance; and (b) describing the procedure to impose civil penalties.
1. Any civil monetary penalty amount must be imposed equitably.
2. The procedur...

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Date NameDistrictOpinionCommentAction
1/16/2025 1:10 AM    Please inform Ms. Jalali that the current city charter was adopted in 1972 and largely reflects the work of Ruby Hunt, one of the city's first female councilmembers. The original charter was adopted by voters in 1900. Prior to that year, the Minnesota Legislature controlled all aspects of any city organization and structure through special legislation. +2
1/14/2025 8:50 AME Lein (again)   Look at RLH VO 24-37 (Adopted by City Council, 1/8/2025): Appeal of...to a Notice of Condemnation as Unfit for Human Habitation and Order to Vacate at 973 FRONT AVENUE. Dig deep into photos, hearing transcripts, inspection notes, letters from neighbors, etc. The hearing officer tried to be reasonable when faced with incessant excuses, delays and non-compliance. THEN ASK: Would slapping civil fines onto the owner of this property have fixed problems faster or with greater comp***ion? Can fines improve housekeeping or reduce hoarding? Might efficient citation authority aggravate a vulnerable person's emotional issues? +2
1/14/2025 7:04 AMEric Lein Against This ordinance will amend the City Charter (St Paul's "Constitution") and future adoption of currently undefined administrative citations will need the support of just FOUR council members. The Charter Commission's favorable vote was NOT unanimous (12 in favor, 3 opposed). Regardless of whether this is - or is not, or might be - a good idea, the final decision should be made by VOTERS on Election Day, NOT by today's seven council members. Therefore, I OPPOSE this ordinance and ask that St Paul's voters decide its fate. +5 -1