Thanks to our members for making coverage of West St. Paul City Council meetings possible.
The work session for the West St. Paul City Council will include a lot of data to track performance and the regular meeting has a short agenda with a public hearing for Robert Street sidewalk snow removal.
Performance Indicators
During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), City Council will review a number of community performance indicators. This is an attempt by City Manager Nate Burkett to develop and track data to chart progress in the city.
There are a number of interesting stats, including:
- Streets: Pavement condition has vastly improved, with the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) jumping from the mid-50s to 67. It’s still in the “fair” category, but it’s a marked improvement.
- Crime: For violent crime, West St. Paul is about par with the national average. But for property crime, West St. Paul is more than double the national average, thanks to our large commercial corridor.
- Housing: Home prices and rent costs are rising rapidly in West St. Paul. We see a higher percentage of housing burdens households where residents pay a third of their income on housing.
- Economy: West St. Paul has higher unemployment than the rest of the state, though it’s come down significantly in the last decade. The poverty rate in West St. Paul also spiked in the last few years, but returned to match the overall state level in 2022.
- Trees: West St. Paul’s tree canopy cover is 39.3%, 5% below the recommended standard.
- Civics: Voter turnout in West St. Paul used to consistently beat the Minnesota average, though in the last five years or so it’s dipped to around 5% below the state average.
Other Items on the Agenda:
- Snow removal: Once again the city plans to hire an outside contractor to clear snow on Robert Street sidewalks between Butler and Mendota. North of Butler will be up to individual properties with increased enforcement this year. There will be a public hearing on the proposed contract.
- Budget: If there’s time, Council will further discuss the 2025 budget during OCWS.
Engage
Watch: The public can watch the meeting live on Town Square TV or cable TV starting at 6:30 p.m. (5 p.m. for the OCWS) on Monday.
Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
We believe in government transparency and provide these West St. Paul City Council previews with the support of our members.
