St. Paul committee reviews draft ordinance to require quarterly vacancy and public-safety overtime reports

The St. Paul City Council Budget & Finance Committee on May 20 discussed a draft administrative ordinance that would add a new chapter to the city’s administrative code requiring quarterly vacancy reports and quarterly public-safety overtime reports, with implementation proposed to begin Jan. 1, 2026. Chair Yang opened the item and said, “I want to be really clear that today's presentation and discussion does, does not include a final ordinance language ... we will not be voting on it today.”

The draft presented by Jay Wilms, Chief Budget Officer, would add a new Chapter 15 to the administrative code and require the Department of Human Resources to produce a quarterly vacancy report covering full‑time, budgeted, nonappointed and non‑temporary roles; it would also require the police and fire/public‑safety departments to submit a quarterly overtime report covering average overtime by role, percentage of shifts filled by overtime, cost trends and budget comparisons. “At a high level, what this does is requires reporting by amending the administrative code by adding a new chapter 15,” Wilms said.

Why it matters: Council members said regularized reporting is intended to give the council better, timely information for budget decisions and to reduce the need for ad hoc requests. Several members urged that, even while the ordinance is drafted and reviewed by the city attorney, staff should request current data now because the council is already facing an unresolved police overtime contingency of about $700,000.

What the draft requires and how it would…