st.Paul Police Overtime Spending Down in First Half of Year

St. Paul police overtime spending was down about $500,000 in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, the assistant chief told the city council Wednesday.

There was debate between the city council and the mayor’s office last year about high police overtime spending, and the city council requested a report from the police department.

The police department is authorized for 619 officers, but hasn’t been able to fully staff its ranks. Currently, there are 562 officers on the payroll, with 539 available to work.

Most of the $1.4 million in police overtime spending from the general fund for the first six months of this year-$579,000-has been to cover staff shortages.

“Like many cities across the country, we’ve relied on overtime as a stop gap to cover a lot of our staffing needs,” which also happens in the fire department, said City council Member HwaJeong Kim, vice chair of the budget committee, on Wednesday.

The city council wants to understand the actual costs of running the city for better budgeting and planning, “especially when we’re talking to our residents about why we’re increasing property taxes by a certain amount every year,” said Council Member Saura Jost.

Mayor Melvin Carter presented his 2026 budget proposal on Sept. 4, which relies on a 5.3% property tax levy increase. The city council will finalize the budget in December.

Gun Violence Decreases, Lowering Overtime Needs

Another $113,417 in overtime this year has been for investigating homicides and major crimes, which is down from $151,041 last year as gun violence