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St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter used his first State of the City address on Saturday to call for a new culture of citizen involvement. 

His speech, delivered at Johnson Senior High School, kicked off a half-day summit to discuss pressing issues in the city. Carter told the audience that things are good in St. Paul, but the city will need the skills and ideas of residents to deal with challenges ahead.

"I stand before you today to report on the state of our city in three words: St. Paul is strong, St. Paul is dynamic and, most importantly, St. Paul is ours," he told the crowd.

Following the speech, audience members gathered to discuss topics such as public safety, fair housing, a minimum wage ordinance, college savings accounts, citywide garbage service and city budgets.

Carter has already encouraged a great deal of citizen involvement, which he said has made some people uncomfortable. 

"One person told me right from the beginning, 'I think the problem is, we are just not used to seeing it done this way,'" Carter recounted. "But doing things differently isn't our problem at all. It's our promise."

Carter said the city is growing and needs to expand its tax base if its going to remain strong. He called for passage of a minimum wage ordinance in the city by year's end.  

Carter took office in January. His State of the City address and the accompanying State of Our City summit originally were scheduled to take place in April, but were postponed by a snowstorm.

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Euan Kerr

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Following the speech, audience members gathered to discuss topics such as public safety, fair housing, a minimum wage ordinance, college savings accounts, citywide garbage service and city budgets.


St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter delivers first State of the City address

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