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St. Paul City Council unanimously overrides five mayoral line-item vetoes to restore 2025 budget items
Summary
At a special meeting, the St. Paul City Council voted unanimously to override five line-item vetoes to the adopted 2025 budget, restoring funding and authority for council office upgrades, a human-rights director salary hold, events and festivals, the Council Audit Committee and the Saint Paul Children's Collaborative.
The St. Paul City Council met in a special session and voted to override five mayoral line-item vetoes to the adopted 2025 budget, restoring funding and authority the council said were necessary for safety, oversight and community programming.
Council members took up the vetoes individually and discussed each item before voting. The council said the council office redesign and security upgrades advance safety, accessibility and staff collaboration and are part of previously agreed ARP-funded special funds; the council moved to override the mayor’s veto and the motion carried, restoring the redesign allocation.
On the Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity director’s salary, council members said the position has been vacant for more than two years and that the city charter requires the role. The council said it intends to hold the salary in the 2025 budget because no hiring plan is yet in place, while urging the mayor to include a hiring plan in the 2026 budget. Council Member Buie said many constituents had raised concerns about the vacancy and voiced support for collaborating with the mayor on a plan. The council voted to override the veto on the salary line.
Council also restored increased funding for cultural events and festivals across the city, describing the expansion as a community priority to support cultural vitality. The council discussed maintaining funding for the Saint Paul Children’s Collaborative so the city can work on technical adjustments to how the support is allocated while preserving the program’s funding.
Separately, council members emphasized retaining the Council Audit Committee, citing the administrative code provision assigning the committee oversight of financial and program performance to ensure transparency and accountability; council members said removing the committee could run counter to stated fiscal-prudence goals.
Votes at a glance: all five mayoral line-item vetoes considered at the special meeting were overridden by council vote (each vote recorded as 7 in favor, no opposition). Motions to override were made by Ms. Yang (office redesign), Ms. Kim (human-rights director salary), Ms. Johnson (events and festivals), Ms. Naker (audit committee), and Ms. Jost (Children’s Collaborative).
The special meeting concluded after the five overrides were enacted and no further business was brought before the council.
