Saint Paul Police present 2026 budget; overtime down, PEO ranks trimmed and academies uncertain

The Saint Paul Police Department presented its proposed 2026 operating budget to the Saint Paul City Council Finance and Budget Committee, outlining staffing changes, one‑time investments and several funding gaps that will affect recruiting and downtown safety work. Chief Axel Henry said the department is focused on reducing gun violence, improving retention and increasing community collaboration while managing a budget where "92 and a half percent of our entire budget is salaries, wages."

The department reported a 30% year‑to‑date reduction in general‑fund overtime compared with the same period in 2024 and estimated that drop translated to roughly $600,000–$650,000 in lower pay costs so far. Chief Henry credited operational changes, shift borrowing across districts and other efficiency measures for the improvement, while warning that data collection after a recent city IT outage remains incomplete.

Why it matters: salaries dominate the police budget, so small changes in headcount or contract pay can have outsized effects. Committee members repeatedly pressed the chief about whether the department can sustain hiring and training without continued grant support for academies and specialized programs.

The budget and key items - Staffing and vacancies: The presentation lists a proposed net reduction of 16.53 FTEs for 2026; the department said it currently shows about 53 unfilled sworn officer positions but reported net hiring of "positive 16" year‑to‑date in 2025 as academies and recruiting began to take effect. Chief Henry warned the department faces a ‘‘retirement boom’’ — roughly 90–100 employees may be eligible for retirement over the next three years — which will sustain hiring needs.

- Police Enforcement Officers (PEOs): Henry said the department estimates enough work for roughly 24 PEOs but the budget supports far fewer. Historically the department had 12 PEOs, dropped to 10 and the 2026 proposal would reduce that to eight, with three of the remaining positions funded by Public Works. Council President Acre said, "I think we need more parking enforcement officers, not less. 10 is not enough, and 8 is certainly not enough." The chief described PEOs as both essential enforcement staff and an important recruitment pipeline into sworn ranks.

- Overtime and special events: The department projects no net change in overtime for special events after adjusting event billing; the presentation shows $815,000 in anticipated special‑event revenue that will flow back out as event pay. The department previously changed how private off‑duty details were handled and now bills event organizers at departmental overtime rates rather than allowing private off‑duty hiring.

- Grants and shifted funding: Henry said several one‑time or grant programs previously supporting staff are not continuing or are being reallocated — e.g., IC POET and some academy funding were not renewed for 2026, and other investigators formerly covered by federal grants have been moved back to the general fund as grant periods ended. He noted one forensic scientist position that previously came from grant dollars will be paid from general funds in 2026 (no net new person was being added). The department also raised that some UASI grant dollars have been shifted by emergency management into other functions.

- Downtown safety and technology: The 2026 proposal includes $1.3 million for body‑worn camera purchases and cloud storage but does not fund a citywide closed‑circuit television (CCTV) program. Chief Henry said many existing cameras are near the end of their useful life and the city currently can fund small, local deployments and mobile trailer cameras, but a full, centrally managed CCTV network would require a strategic, multi‑year investment. "That bigger CCTV system as a whole is gonna have to be carved out and thought about in a really strategic way if we wanna achieve that success," he said.

- Recruiting and academies: Henry said academy funding for 2026 has not been secured, but the department plans to run academies and is “recruiting” and “we will have those academies one way or the other.” He described pipeline programs — cadet and PEO pathways, a law enforcement career path academy and third‑party scholarships — as critical to increasing hires. The department reported it netted negative 18 sworn staff in 2022, negative 12 in early 2024, and was net +16 so far in 2025, with a fall academy expected to add roughly 30 recruits.

Committee follow‑ups and staff requests Committee members asked for follow‑up details on how many of the 42 positions discussed budget‑wide are vacant, how many would be permanently eliminated, and the exact dollar value of vacant sworn FTEs. Chief Henry said some of those figures are moving targets and offered to provide itemized follow‑ups, including exact counts of sworn FTEs budgeted in the general fund versus grant‑funded positions.

Ending Committee members scheduled further follow‑up meetings, including a detailed overtime hearing next week, and requested written answers on sworn FTE counts, the specific funding status of academies and grant transitions, and a breakdown of special–event billing estimates. Chief Henry closed by offering staff support for additional questions: "If we can get you squared away or get you the information you want or need, we wanna do it."