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St. Paul council approves police vehicle purchase, fund transfer and accepts officer resignation
Summary
The council approved selling a 2016 Chevy Impala and buying a 2017 Ford Taurus for $10,000 (3-1 vote), authorized transferring police reserve funds to cover a prior-year budget deficit, and accepted Officer Grady Robinson's resignation (all other votes unanimous).
The St. Paul City Council on Aug. 5 approved a vehicle swap for the police department, authorized a budget transfer to cover a department shortfall, and accepted a resignation from the department.
Chief of Police Dan Howard asked permission to sell a 2016 Chevy Impala and purchase a 2017 Ford Taurus from Federal Surplus for $10,000. He said the Taurus has about 54,000 miles and that $9,500 exists in the 2024–2025 Vehicle Equipment Budget to help cover the purchase. The motion to sell and purchase passed 3-1, with Council member Bill Peters recorded as the lone dissent.
Council also approved a transfer of police reserve funds into Police Checking (#100027) to cover the Police Department’s 2023–2024 budget deficit; that transfer passed unanimously. In a separate unanimous vote the council accepted the resignation of Police Officer Grady Robinson "with regret."
Why it matters: The vehicle purchase affects patrol fleet readiness and near-term operating budgets; the reserve-fund transfer addresses a past-year shortfall in the police budget. The resignation will affect staffing levels pending any recruitment or reassignment decisions.
What’s next: The vehicle procurement can proceed under the approved motion, finance staff will complete the reserve transfer, and the council or police administration will manage any personnel follow-up related to the resignation.
