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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2024
Contact:
Brynn Hausz, Director of Council Operations
Brynn.Hausz@ci.stpaul.mn.us
Saint Paul City Council Formally Sets Limit for 2025 Tax Levy
SAINT PAUL – Today, the Saint Paul City Council took its annual budgetary action to formally set the city’s 2025 levy limit at 7.9%. This preliminary action recognizes the proposed amount by Mayor Carter for 2025 while committing to continued review, efforts to look for thoughtful savings without compromising critical services to residents, and adopting a final budget in December.
The City Council is required under state law to set a levy limit each year as part of its budget-setting process. The levy limit is the maximum by which the city can raise property taxes for the following year and determines how much money could be available for the following year’s budget. This important step in the process lays out parameters for the Council’s final budget adoption in early December.
Over the next three months, the City Council will continue to hold weekly Budget Committee meetings on Wednesdays at 10:00 am at City Hall to hear the details of each city department’s 2025 budget request. The final vote on the 2025 city budget will be held on December 4, 2024 at the 3:30 pm Council meeting.
As has been tradition in recent years, the City Council communicated their own budget priorities to Mayor Carter this summer prior to his budget address. The City Council is committed to a 2025 city budget that includes:
- Support for renters;
- Support for fire and safety services;
- Expanded investments in Library health and safety;
- A comprehensive commercial corridors strategy;
- Accelerated investments to address the opioid epidemic;
- Improved pedestrian safety;
- Social and economic justice;
- Supporting shared policy priorities; and
- A commitment to addressing the annual budget shortfall in collaboration with the Mayor.
While a significant amount of work remains ahead in the coming months, the Council was pleased to see many shared values and priorities in the 2025 city budget proposal that the Mayor announced last month.
To keep up to date on the Council’s budget process, go to www.stpaul.gov/departments/city-Council/budgeting-financial-planning.
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