The Budget Process
The St Paul budget process follows Minnesota law, the City charter and the legislative code. The process to develop the budget commences in February.
January — March
Finalize the budget for the following year. This includes preparing, printing and distributing books reflecting the adopted budget. The Office of Financial Services prepares the annual financial report for the previous year.
Identify the base budget for the upcoming year.
April — June
Forms, instructions, printouts and the Mayor’s guidelines are distributed to departments. Departments use these tools to plan for and develop operating budgets. Department management and staff identify objectives, performance indicators and the resources needed to accomplish goals. Review services to determine purpose, need and cost-saving ideas.
Requests for the following year’s budget are submitted in June. OFS budget staff then analyze each department’s budget. The Mayor meets with the department directors to discuss their needs and to ensure that budgets meet the service level and taxing objectives that have been established for the City.
July — September
The budget staff finalizes the Mayor’s recommendations and produces the Mayor’s proposed budget. The Mayor submits the recommended budget to the City Council by August 15, per City charter.
In August, the City Council begins reviewing the Mayor’s proposed budget. Council meets with department management to clarify the proposed budget. This helps ensure departments meet their goals, priorities, and objectives. As required by state law, the City Council sets the maximum property tax levy in September. Budgets may be adjusted, but they cannot exceed the maximum tax levy.
October — December
The City Council holds public hearings on the budget. Ramsey County mails property tax statements to property owners. These statements include:
- the maximum amount of property taxes that the owner must pay
- the time and date of upcoming Truth in Taxation public hearings
State law requires the City to hold a joint meeting with the county and school district. This meeting is in early December. The City Council then adopts a budget and tax levy for the City. The adopted budget represents changes made by City Council to the Mayor’s proposed budget. The Mayor has line-item veto authority over the Council-adopted budget.