Advocacy Report – August 2021

Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter Proposes a 6.9% Property Tax Increase

Last week, Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter unveiled his 2022 budget proposal. Included in his budget proposal was a 6.9% increase in property taxes, which is equivalent to a $127 increase for a median value home in Saint Paul.

The mayor acknowledged that this tax increase could negatively impact people who were financially burdened due to the pandemic, which is why he also proposed a program to assist low-income homeowners, this program would receive $600,000 under the mayor’s proposed budget.

This proposal, to increase property taxes by 6.9%, is higher than the increase that the City Council called for in their recommendations to the mayor, their recommendation was to increase property taxes somewhere between 2-4 percent.

From the Pioneer Press: “the Saint Paul City Council will have until September to vote upon a maximum property tax levy. They’ll then have until early December to finalize any budget changes and approve the final tax levy, which can be lower than but not greater than the amount approved in September.”

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