2024 West St. Paul Election: Budget

Thanks to Zak’s Auto Service for their support.

In the West St. Paul municipal election this year the mayor and three City Council members are on the ballot. We’ve asked the candidates a series of questions to see where they stand on the issues. We’ll share one question and the responses at a time leading up to the general election on November 5. See our 2024 voter’s guide for more.

Previously we asked about candidates’ top issues and this time we’re talking about the budget.

The preliminary budget numbers include a potential 7.4% increase in the property tax levy—equating to about $129 for the average home (and those early numbers will likely shift). Do you support this increase—why or why not? If you don’t support it, what should be cut? If you do support it, what additions to the budget are worth the extra expense?

Here are the candidates’ responses:

(Editor’s Note: The preliminary levy has been lowered to 7.22% or about $125 since the candidates answered the question.)

Candidates for Mayor

This is an uncontested race.

Dave Napier

(no campaign site)

Dave Napier did not respond to our questionnaire.

Candidates for City Council Ward 1

Doug Fromm

(campaign site)

As I have connected with both homeowners and renters over the past months, several have told me that the increased costs of housing is making it harder to stay in existing housing. Even though a city property tax increase of roughly $11 per month for the average home may not seem like a lot, along with all of the other cost increases, it adds up. For renters this will be realized in rising rent costs. So, we should work to keep any increase as low as possible.

However, rising costs are hitting the everyday operations of our city government too, Therefore, I would  expect some increase in our city budget. The alternative would be cutting services and delaying critical infrastructure repairs, which I don’t want to see happen.

We should work with staff to look for budget efficiencies, added revenue sources, and temporarily delay some projects. There are also actions I support to help offset cost increases and, thus, reduce property tax levy increases.  These include continuing to add to the tax base by supporting additional housing units and businesses where appropriate. I would also support delaying some non-critical, infrastructure additions in the short term. Instead adopting a policy of maintaining what we already have and only adding infrastructure when it’s cost efficient to do so or to address a critical need, such as adding sidewalks to high pedestrian traffic areas.

Andrew Rydlund

(no campaign site)

Andrew Rydlund did not respond to our questionnaire.

Candidates for City Council Ward 2

This is an uncontested race.

Robyn Gulley

(campaign site)

We are a city of working people and families as well as people who have worked through their lives and retired here in West St. Paul. We never make decisions that will increase costs for residents lightly. And costs have increased for our city just as they have everywhere else. I want to live in a city where we are treating our staff well, maintaining our infrastructure, and bringing in new things. I support the increase because I believe it is necessary to keep West St. Paul moving in the right direction. 

Candidates for City Council Ward 3

Lisa Eng-Sarne

(campaign site)

I think we will be able to find some efficiencies ahead of the final decision on this tax levy. Our job is to balance community expectations around city services with the budget. There are streets that need reconstruction; it’s not really optional. We have prioritized our parks master plan and while some work can be spaced out longer, the public has emphatically said that those improvements are important to them. We are also investing in our people and their workplace; we have incredible people working for the city and are working to keep wages competitive so we can keep them. Public safety also remains a top priority and we are a fully-staffed department with dedicated employees who we want to keep here.

In 2023, we completed a monumental 2.5 miles of sidewalk and 1.6 miles of trail in our five square miles of a city. Since 2017, we have provided the community an average of 1.2 miles of trails and sidewalks per year, which shows our deep commitment. We’ve completed the River to River trail through West St. Paul, and when we reconstruct streets we are adding sidewalks and trails where it makes sense. We remain committed to creating a more walkable city, but we may slow this pace slightly to trim the budget. I think we can expect some efficiencies in the initial proposal and I would welcome feedback from the public.

Anthony Smith

(no campaign site)

Anthony Smith did not respond to our questionnaire.

Vote on November 5

The general election is on Tuesday, November 5. Learn more about where and how to vote. You can also vote early with an absentee ballot, either by mail or by stopping at the Dakota County offices.

See our 2024 voter’s guide for more on the candidates and other races.

Thank you to the candidates for taking the time to respond to our questions.

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