Calling criminal charges too time-consuming and heavy-handed for many infractions, St. Paul city officials have long wanted more tools to hold accountable errant landlords who let their properties lapse into disrepair, dog owners whose canines wander loose through their neighborhood and other scofflaws.
After revisiting the question at least three times over the last decade, the St. Paul Charter Commission last December supported amending the city charter to allow the city council to impose administrative citations, or non-criminal fines and civil penalties for those who break city ordinances.
The city council took up the issue soon after and unanimously approved the same change to the city charter in January.
The next stop for administrative citations? The November ballot.
On the ballot
Opponents of administrative citations have obtained upwards of the 2,000 petition signatures needed to stall the proposed charter amendment and force it onto the city’s public ballot this fall, putting the question of a charter change before St. Paul voters during what’s likely to be a low turnout election.
“Many people signing the petition were not immediately for or against, but it was ‘this is something that residents should consider,’” said Peter Butler, who organized the petition drive. “It’s really for the voters to approve that power, not for the city to assume it on its own.”
Peter Butler. (Courtesy of the candidate)
The city council has yet to approve the official language that will appear on the city ballot, but the council last week did acknowledge the 2,000-signature petition threshold was met when it approved a separate resolution allowing more time to assemble a legislative advisory committee to create a framework around administrative citations.
The April 23 resolution language noted that “a petition requesting a referendum … was delivered to the office of the City Clerk” on March 24, and on April 15 “the City Clerk certified that the petition has the sufficient number of signatures required” by state statute.
Butler said he worked with a group of about 15 volunteers to amass some 2,400 signatures to get the question on the ballot, though at least 200 signatures were thrown out by Ramsey County Elections, often for minor discrepancies with the voter rolls, such as an abbreviated first name, he said. Signatures were tossed, for instance, because they were spelled “Mike” instead of “Michael,” Butler said.
Still, by statute, only 2,000 signatures were needed to move forward. To approve administrative citations, the Nov. 4 election will require a simple majority of votes. Blank votes will be disregarded and will not count toward the total.
While the ballot question is intended to be neutral, Butler acknowledged he’s personally no fan of administrative citations, a proposal that went before the charter commission three times in about eight years before gaining legs.
“I don’t think it will have the effect that people are saying it will,” said Butler, pointing to a series of downtown St. Paul properties owned by Madison Equities that have fallen into disrepair, condemnation or court-ordered receivership. “A company that can’t even pay its utility bills is not going to care about a city fine. The real bad actors probably aren’t going to care what the city does to them.”
‘A flexible tool’
St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker on Tuesday said council members are unlikely to comment on an open ballot question, except to say the council’s support for administrative citations was unanimous.
Rebecca Noecker. (Courtesy of the City of St. Paul)
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, who also will appear on the November ballot as he seeks a third term in office, has pushed for the implementation of administrative citations since early in his tenure.
“Administrative citations offer a flexible tool to address code violations sooner, while reducing reliance on criminal penalties,” said Carter, in a written statement last October. “This measure would enhance compliance in a way that prioritizes education and accountability, aligning with our vision for a more just and responsive city government.”
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Directors in the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections, Public Works and other areas of City Hall noted that 24 of the state’s 25 largest cities have relied upon various types of administrative citations for years. Brooklyn Center, Hopkins, Minneapolis and Woodbury all use civil penalties to enforce different aspects of their city code.
During public hearings last winter, some of the most vocal proponents of administrative citations were worker and renters’ rights groups, who said they have limited immediate recourse when an employer fails to offer paid sick time or a landlord hikes rents above what’s allowed under the city’s rent control ordinance, refuses to fix a toilet or leaves tenants sweltering in the summer heat without operable air conditioning.
Still, some of the same individuals who stand to gain from administrative citations may bear the burden in other ways. Given that much of St. Paul’s housing stock is more than 100 years old, critics worry that city departments will attempt to balance their cash-strapped budgets by fining low-to-moderate income homeowners for commonplace issues, like chipped paint or tall grass, instead of large corporate property owners.
In those instances, fines might land more heavily on low-income parts of the city and communities of color.
Hearing process, guardrails
In response, the St. Paul City Council has emphasized that each new type of administrative citation will go through its own hearing process before the council, and each will have its own fine schedule.
They’ve also created other guardrails. As a result of the April 23 resolution, within 90 days of the ballot measure’s approval, a legislative advisory committee must provide a written report to the city council on an “equitable implementation framework” for citations.
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The committee must be composed of an individual with an academic background in city enforcement, a representative of a labor union, an attorney or someone with legal background in the area, a district council representative, a community expert on fines and fees, a member of the city’s new Reparations Commission, an independent research organization and city staff.
In addition, each department that produces administrative citations will be required to report back to the city council annually on how many were issued, the types of infractions involved and how the money was spent. The report is expected to include “to the extent possible, data collection on demographic impacts,” according to the council resolution.
