Alarmed by a slowdown in housing construction in St. Paul, Mayor Melvin Carter will ask the city council to heavily amend the capital city’s rent control restrictions, enshrining them for housing built before 2004 while lifting rent limits permanently and entirely for residential construction that opened after that period.
The mayor said a variety of factors, including high interest rates, had worked against drawing new multi-family housing to St. Paul. “I don’t think you have to lay blame to take responsibility,” said Carter in a recent interview, noting the real estate development community had made it clear acquiring financing to build new apartments had proven difficult.
Carter hopes to see the city council vote on a major amendment to the city’s voter-approved rent stabilization ordinance by the end of the year, setting the stage for a series of housing initiatives and downtown investments he plans to enact in 2025. Among them, the mayor would push forward new tenant protections, $1 million toward waiving certain fee requirements for developers who convert downtown office buildings into housing, and the expansion of a Rondo-based homebuyer program known as the “Inheritance Fund” into the city’s West Side.
The mayor made his announcements Tuesday during his annual budget address, where he proposed a 7.9% increase to the city’s property tax levy, the sum total of property taxes collected throughout the city. Given shifting values among taxable properties, that would translate to an estimated $132 property tax increase next year for a median-value home, valued around $290,000 next year.
2025 proposed city budget
Overall, the city’s proposed 2025 budget would grow to $858 million, a $25 million increase over the present year, if the council approves Carter’s budget proposal without major changes. The proposal rolls in the equivalent of 35 new full-time employees — including six new firefighters — bringing total city staffing to 3,509 employees across departments.
While key COVID-relief resources from the federal American Rescue Plan face a fast-approaching spending deadline, the city relied on a handful of new or increased funding sources, including a 1% “Common Cent” sales tax approved by city voters in November to support parks and roads.
“This has been a challenging budget to put together, for a number of reasons,” Carter said. “We’ve had one-time funding that has helped us weather the storm the last few years.”
In an interview last week setting the stage for his budget address, Carter said more must be done to promote downtown St. Paul, as declining property values downtown could soon impact the entire city. Property owners, however, have yet to experience the full effect of a potential fiscal cliff. His budget includes increasing cameras, cleaning and police patrols downtown, an expanded Downtown Improvement District and a downtown project manager within the St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development.
Looking citywide, Carter said public safety, housing, downtown investments and climate change were top of mind on his agenda.
Among his proposed initiatives:
Community-First Public Safety investments: $4.5 million
Carter said his budget aims for “safer outcomes in every neighborhood across our city,” with $1.4 million in investments ranging from continuing free youth sports for kids ages 10 and up to the a gun diversion program run by the city attorney’s office.
The St. Paul Fire Department’s fire suppression staffing would grow by four firefighters. Some $560,000 allocated last year will add two firefighters and fund eight promotions. Other initiatives include staffing support for a victim/witness program, realigning staffing for a police forensic services unit and public safety initiatives downtown.
Another $3.1 million will support a St. Paul Police Academy, youth intervention and staffing through St. Paul Parks and Recreation, and “community-first infrastructure” in libraries, including enhancements at the Rondo Library, which has sometimes attracted large groups of young people.
All-In Housing framework: $7.4 million
The mayor proposed $5.3 million for homeowner and tenant supports, including expanded downtown assistance for homebuyers, new investment in a homeowner rehabilitation loan program, and a $500,000 investment in a low-income homeowner support program. Other initiatives include a home weatherization/electric improvement program, $1 million in rental assistance, a new tenant protections staffer and support for tenant services through the Home Line.
Another $1.4 million will be dedicated toward office-to-housing conversion fee waiver program downtown, and accelerating the permit review process for new housing. Another $1 million will be dedicated to homeless initiatives, including $500,000 to help Catholic Charities, which runs the downtown shelter campus known as Higher Ground/Dorothy Day, weather budget pressures amidst an uptick in demand for homeless services.
Carter said specific policy proposals around housing will include changes to rent stabilization, new tenant protections, a proposed charter amendment allowing the city council to create new administrative citations, and the expansion of the “Inheritance Fund” to descendants of residents displaced decades ago from the West Side Flats.
The mayor’s housing initiatives will be boosted by a projected $5 million from a metro-wide sales tax approved last year by the state Legislature, which is dedicated toward funding public transit and housing services across the Twin Cities.
Downtown vitality: $1.7 million
Initiatives downtown include increased sidewalk maintenance, event promotion, public art and banners, $275,000 toward increased downtown patrols, $200,000 toward a a downtown camera system and supports, $78,000 toward added downtown cleaning, a downtown project manager with Planning and Economic Development, a citywide grant program to support events and festivals, the expanded Downtown Improvement District, and an office-to-housing conversion study.
Climate change: $1.4 million
The mayor said the city would add two months — April and October — to an existing Xcel Energy franchise free that currently runs from May through September, generating $1.4 million to address the impacts of climate change. Initiatives include changes to snow plowing operations, a Right Track youth jobs program geared toward tree planting and maintenance in parks and right-of-way areas, a Climate Action coordinator, a project management technician and staff within the Department of Safety and Inspections to administer changes related to the updated state energy code.
Brian Bonner: From my view in Kyiv, here’s what Ukraine needs from the U.S. The stakes are high
Hastings man dies in single-vehicle crash on St. Paul’s U.S. 61
Fire guts the former Ngon Bistro just before it was to reopen under a new restaurateur
Metro Transit police chief on paid administrative leave
Letters: Is it too much to ask the candidates how they plan to work toward what we agree on?
