St. Paul presents $887 million 2026 budget proposal as residents warn levy, library cuts and staffing risk services

St. Paul officials on Monday presented a proposed $886,900,000 2026 city budget and told residents the city plans to adopt the maximum levy on Sept. 24 as part of a timeline that includes a Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) hearing Nov. 25 and final budget certification Dec. 3.

Komal Verma, the city’s new chief budget officer, told the crowd the proposal would increase the proposed general fund by 3.9% (about $15.1 million) from 2025 and raise the proposed property tax levy to $232,500,000 — a 5.3% increase she said would add about $9 per month to the average Saint Paul household.

The budget presentation and subsequent small-group reports and public testimony focused heavily on two themes: pressure from rising levy and jurisdictional tax burdens, and cuts to frontline staffing that residents and city employees say are already reducing services.

"The mayor is responsible for developing the budget and recommending it to the legislative branch," Verma said, describing the budget calendar and legal requirements in the city charter. She outlined revenue sources that include user fees (32.6%), taxes (29.1%) and intergovernmental grants (15.7%), and a spending profile in which personnel costs — salaries and benefits — account for about half of total proposed expenditures.

Verma identified several proposed investments in the 2026 package: $13.1 million for housing and economic opportunity (including $6.6 million for housing production and $4.9 million for housing affordability), $3 million to modernize city services and technology, and targeted items such as $450,000 for pedestrian and bike safety, $1 million for opioid treatment and prevention, and a $100,000 temporary library lease while Rondo Community Library is closed for renovation.

At the engagement meeting, several ward-level reports echoed concerns about the levy and frontline staffing. Rebecca Naker, president of the St. Paul City Council and councilmember for Ward 2, said constituents asked the council to look beyond marginal swaps of line items and instead identify deeper operational savings and efficiencies.

"We talked about the concern about the levy increase, not just from the city, but from all jurisdictions," Naker said, noting residents asked for better coordination between the city, Ramsey County and Saint Paul Public Schools.

Library staff and union representatives urged the council to preserve positions and hours. "I urge the council to keep the 0.8 FTE library associate position," Isaac Milke, a library associate and president of Ask Me Technical Local 1842, told the council, arguing that cuts would reduce computer access, printing, restrooms and basic services at Arlington Hills Library and elsewhere. Milke and other speakers suggested trimming management vacancies rather than frontline positions.

City employees and union members echoed that point. Paul Tishler, who works in St. Paul Parks and identified himself as a member of AFSCME Local 2508, said workers are facing burnout and that wages have not kept pace with cost increases. "This is the time, to invest in the employees," he said.

Several residents framed the levy in affordability terms. Greg Copeland, a Ward 6 resident, said his assessment will mean a $542 increase and warned council members the city is pricing people out. "You're gonna make the city unaffordable," he said.

Other public comments and ward reports emphasized maintenance backlogs, downtown vitality, vacant commercial properties, enforcement and accountability for short-term rentals such as Airbnb, snow plowing and street repairs, and the need for coordinated interdepartmental planning so new planting or capital projects are not undone by future work.

Verma flagged budget challenges including federal- and state-level fiscal uncertainty, the phase-out of one-time COVID-related funds such as American Rescue Plan and CARES Act dollars, and recovery costs following a recent cyber incident that temporarily affected city services.

Council members closed the session by encouraging ongoing participation in the budget process; there were no formal votes during the engagement meeting. The council’s budget calendar as presented calls for the council to evaluate the mayor’s recommended budget from September to November, host the TNT hearing Nov. 25, and adopt the final levy and budget Dec. 3.

What happens next: the mayor’s recommended budget will be publicly available in August, departments will present to council during the fall review period, and the council will hold further hearings and deliberations before the September levy adoption and the late-November TNT hearing.