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The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday voted to amend the city’s charter to allow it to impose fines for ordinance violations. 

St. Paul was the only major city in Minnesota that lacked the power to levy fines. Some council members and advocates of the charter change said that limited the city’s ability to enforce rules. If a landlord failed to keep a property in good condition, for example, the city could send a letter telling them to fix the problem, or could revoke their licenses or pursue criminal charges.

The ability to impose fines provides a needed middle ground, advocates said. The council voted unanimously to amend the city charter to allow administrative fines.

The council also formed an advisory committee to study equity in imposing fines. Council members noted concerns that fines could disproportionately affect people of color and low-income residents, as they have elsewhere. 

Council member Anika Bowie proposed the committee.

“I’m really proud of the work that we set forward to have clear indications of what equity means and how we’re going to actually practice that — not only just to the enforcement of it, but in the process and how we lead on it,” Bowie said.

The advisory committee will be formed in the next 90 days. It will include city staff, academics and representatives from labor unions. The committee will have one year to make recommendations and draft a written report.

The council voted unanimously in favor of forming the advisory committee. 

Council member Rebecca Noecker supported the measure.

“I think it really balances our desire to to protect people who need protecting — to look out for people who are the subjects of wage theft, to look out for people who are being locked unjustly in the skyways or who are the victims of predatory landlords — and also make sure that we don’t ever apply this in a way that hurts the very people it’s intended to protect,” Noecker said.

The council had attempted to change the charter to allow fines multiple times in the past few years — once in 2018 and again in 2021. The measure failed both times.

The council can implement fines when the charter amendment takes effect in 90 days. The council will need to consider and pass fines for each ordinance separately.

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Estelle Timar-Wilcox

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The St. Paul City Council on Wednesday voted to amend the city’s charter to allow it to impose fines for ordinance violations. It was one of few large cities in Minnesota that didn’t already have that power. 

St. Paul City Council approves charter change to allow administrative fines

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