2024 - 2025: Designing Saint Paul for Safety
Welcome to Our Capital Improvement Budget! This year, we are inviting you to share your ideas for how we can use our capital dollars to design our city for safety.
2025 Community Proposal Public Hearing August 12
The City of Saint Paul’s Long-Range Capital Improvement Budget Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, August 12, 2024, 5 – 7 pm (or until last speaker) in the Multipurpose Room at Rondo Community Library, located at 461 Dale St N, St Paul, MN 55103, to hear public testimony regarding its preliminary recommendations for funding of Community Proposals for 2024 and 2025 capital improvement funds. This includes $1,00,000 in St. Paul Capital Improvement Bonds in total over 2024 and 2025. For more information, or to submit written testimony, contact Nichelle Bottko Woods, City of Saint Paul, Office of Financial Services, nichelle.bottko.woods@ci.stpaul.mn.us, 651-266-8878, or visit www.stpaul.gov/cib.
2024 - 2025 Community Proposal Tentative Funding Recommendations
This 2024 process carries forward a longstanding commitment to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), a core principle of Mayor Carter's Community-First Public Safety Framework. CPTED enhances the quality of our built environment to strongly influence outcomes and behaviors. It also supports improving the quality of our public spaces to ensure they are even more well-designed, well-maintained, and well-lit to proactively improve quality of life, and limit opportunity for undesirable activity.
Learn More about the process, view all project proposal details and review proposals on our 2024 - 2025 Community Proposal webpage.
Capital Improvement Budget Process
The Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) is how we fund the construction and maintenance of City infrastructure. This includes improvements in streets, bridges, libraries, parks, recreation centers, and other public facilities and infrastructure. The budget is composed of a variety of state, federal, and local funding sources. The CIB Committee is an advisory body of 18 Saint Paul residents that recommends projects and funding levels to the Mayor every year by June 30. The Capital Improvement Budget is approved by the Mayor and City Council annually.
The Saint Paul Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) process is designed to engage residents in evaluating capital needs in the City. In 2019, we launched a new CIB process to replace the over three decades old existing process and focus more strongly on:
- Equity and inclusion: Budgeting decisions reflect our commitment to equity. The CIB Committee supports identifying ways to invite more voices to the table and ensure investments are distributed equitably throughout the City.
- Strategic investments: Capital investments all feed into a larger, more comprehensive strategic framework that takes advantage of data and ensures maximum return on investment.
- Fiscal responsibility: Existing infrastructure such as roads, bridges and sidewalks – as well as existing parks and libraries facilities – are well-tended. Maintenance is prioritized.
One of the most significant changes to the process is the creation of a two-year cycle with the first year dedicated to City department-submitted projects and the second for community-submitted projects, eliminating the competition for funding between City and community projects that existed in the previous process.
Odd-Numbered Years: City Department Projects
In the spring of the odd-numbered years, a working group composed of representatives from City departments and the CIB Committee begin to review project proposals and 5-year plans submitted by City departments. As part their review, the working group shares the list of potential projects with the community for input. When project review is completed, the working group forwards their project and plan recommendations to the CIB Committee. The Committee reviews, discusses, and holds a public meeting on the recommended plans.
Even-Numbered Years: Community-created Projects
The process begins with the Mayor announcing City priorities for the coming budget year. The City and CIB Committee begin recruiting applications from the community. In the spring of the even-numbered year, the working group screens submitted applications for eligibility. All eligible proposals present to the CIB Committee. Online polling provides additional data that the CIB Committee may use while considering which projects to recommend.
In both years, the CIB Committee forwards recommended capital improvement budgets for the following two fiscal years to the Mayor by late June. The Mayor proposes capital (and operating) budgets to the City Council and residents in mid-August. During the fall, the City Council reviews the Mayor's proposed budgets and holds public hearings. In mid-December, the Council adopts a final capital improvement budget for the next fiscal year and approves a tentative budget for the year after.
Visit the CIB Committee web page for more information on committee meetings, meeting agendas and minutes, and meeting locations and times.
Apply Today to become a member of the CIB Committee!
Capital Improvement Budgets
The Proposed and Adopted Capital Improvement Budget from current and prior years are available on the City's budget page.
For questions, contact CIB-Proposals@ci.stpaul.mn.us.