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West St. Paul council adopts charter language updates but rejects pay increases
Summary
The City Council approved revisions to the city charter to remove gendered language and reword Section 1.02, but a proposed increase in mayor and council salaries failed because it required unanimous approval and did not receive it.
The West St. Paul City Council unanimously approved final-reading changes to the city charter on April 13, 2026 that replace gendered language with gender-neutral wording and reword Section 1.02 for clarity.
Assistant City Manager Dan Nowicki presented the Charter Commission’s recommendations. Councilmember John Justen moved to reword Section 1.02; the motion was seconded by Councilmember Wendy Berry and passed 7–0. Councilmember Doug Fromm then moved to replace gendered language throughout the charter, seconded by Councilmember Lisa Eng-Sarne; that motion also passed 7–0.
Councilmembers also considered a separate motion, made by Councilmember Justen and seconded by Councilmember Robyn Gulley, to increase city council and mayor salaries as proposed by the Charter Commission. That motion received six ayes and one nay from Mayor Dave Napier. Because the salary change required unanimous approval under the governing rule cited during the discussion, the proposal failed and the separate salary item was subsequently stricken from the agenda.
The council completed the final-reading actions on the charter amendments with the approved rewording and gender-neutral updates, while leaving salary levels unchanged pending any future action.
