St. Paul Park council approves 6% pay increase for police chief in 3-1 vote

The City of St. Paul Park City Council voted 3-1 on April 20 to approve a 6% pay increase for the city’s police chief, moving the matter from the consent agenda into new business for separate consideration.

Council Member Spence moved to approve the Police Chief 2025 pay increase; a second was offered and the motion carried 3-1. The vote followed a discussion about whether the increase should be treated as a cost-of-living adjustment and market adjustment rather than a merit raise, and whether the council itself performs performance reviews for department heads.

City staff and council members told the meeting the increase is a cost-of-living/market adjustment and that the chief did not receive an increase on Jan. 1 with other employees. Council members said the chief agreed not to seek retroactive back pay for the months since the raise would have taken effect; staff said that amounts to roughly three to four months of unpaid increase and that the increase had been budgeted previously.

Council members also discussed procedure: the council noted that the city administrator is the council’s direct report and typically conducts performance reviews of department heads, and that merit or performance adjustments can be handled through the city administrator and, if needed, a closed session for personnel issues.

The motion passed 3-1; the dissent was recorded but not attributed to a named council member in the public transcript. The council did not adopt any additional direction about an immediate performance review for the chief; members said such an assessment could be requested from the city administrator at a later date.

The pay increase will be implemented per city payroll processes; the council did not specify retroactive pay as part of the approved motion.