The last time the St. Paul City Council urged the city charter commission to give them the power to impose non-criminal fines on rule-breakers, the charter commission said no.

That was in 2021, when a 7-6 vote quashed a proposal for administrative citations for those who break city ordinances.

On Wednesday, with the support of St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, the seven members of the St. Paul City Council jointly sponsored and approved a request to the charter commission to give the proposal another look. The request to amend the city charter to allow administrative citations does not spell out specific citations, though Council President Mitra Jalali noted several key areas where the council would like more authority to impose non-criminal penalties.

Among them, she said the city needs new powers to hold accountable errant landlords who collect rents without fixing up properties, as well as employers who violate wage rules by failing to provide sick leave and overtime. Jalali noted that Minneapolis and other cities already have such authority, but St. Paul does not.

Officials with the Department of Safety and Inspections and the city attorney’s office have said many city ordinances go unenforced because the infraction isn’t worth opening a criminal case. Administrative fines, they’ve said, could encourage compliance without being added to an individual’s criminal record.

Critics have expressed concern that DSI or another city body could abuse its authority, and departments will attempt to balance tight budgets on the backs of low-income homeowners through new fines on tall grass, chipped paint or other minor infractions.

If approved, the council would have to approve individual ordinance amendments, ordinance by ordinance, to establish, amend or repeal civil penalties for scofflaws. The charter amendment request also calls for an appeals process, with final jurisdiction resting with the district court.

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