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Saint Paul budget officer outlines $854.9 million 2025 plan and proposed 7.9% property tax levy increase
Summary
City budget officer Jay Wilms presented a proposed $854.9 million 2025 budget that includes a proposed 7.9% property tax levy increase to support public safety, climate investments and housing programs; residents filled the hearing and debated trade-offs between tax relief and ongoing climate funding.
City budget officer Jay Wilms told the Saint Paul City Council at a statutorily required truth-in-taxation hearing that the mayor’s proposed 2025 budget would total $854,900,000 and include a proposed 7.9% property tax levy increase. "My name is Jay Wilms, and I serve as the city council's chief budget officer," he said while laying out top-line figures and next steps.
Wilms said the general fund would be $401,400,000, up about $23.9 million (6.2%), and that the new levy would generate a proposed $224,900,000 in property tax revenue. He told the room that the levy increase, combined with franchise-fee revenue and one-time use of special funds, supports public safety staffing, technology upgrades, climate programs and housing initiatives. Wilms said the median-value homeowner (roughly a $275,000 home) would see an estimated impact of about $11 per month.
The presentation flagged targeted investments in public safety—new firefighter positions and forensic scientist positions in the police department—along with $1.4 million in climate investments funded by additional franchise fees, a $425,000 pilot for revised snow operations, and housing allocations including homeowner rehabilitation loans, down-payment assistance and tenant-support funding. Wilms also noted a downtown revitalization package totaling about $1.7 million for maintenance, activation and extra downtown patrols, and that the formal budget adoption was rescheduled to Dec. 11 to allow additional council review.
Residents who testified at length voiced broad concerns about taxes and services. Some speakers, including homeowners and retirees, said steep year-to-year tax increases are pricing long-term residents out of their homes. Others urged the council to preserve franchise-fee-funded climate programs and to use available federal funds for housing and weatherization rather than cutting those programs.
The council closed the public hearing by voice vote and said it would continue deliberations ahead of the budget adoption date. The council did not take a final budget vote at the hearing; adoption is scheduled for the rescheduled meeting on Dec. 11.
