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An updated prevailing wage ordinance passed on a rare tie-breaking vote from the mayor during West St. Paul’s City Council meeting. They also got an early look at the 2026 budget and a potential property tax levy of at least 8%.
Fair Labor Standards
A union presence of 30 to 40 people filled the Council chambers as Council considered an update to the prevailing wage ordinance. Prevailing wage is a fair pay standard required for city projects and commercial project that use city funds. West St. Paul is one of only a handful of cities in Minnesota with a prevailing wage ordinance.
- Issue: The update attempted to address two issues—an inability for staff to investigate and enforce prevailing wage violations and flexibility to make projects work that include an exceptional public benefit (e.g., parks, desired retail/restaurants, affordable housing, etc.). The ordinance closed a number of loopholes, including the types of city funding that would trigger prevailing wage requirements—adding land value and tax abatement as an example.
- Debate: Opposition centered around the second issue, the public benefit waiver that union representatives said made projects possible on the backs of workers. Staff argued it was the only way to get some projects done and include significant value for the community. Any modification to the prevailing wage ordinance must be clearly spelled out, justified, and approved by Council.
- Timing: While these adjustments to the prevailing wage ordinance have been considered for years, the change is coming now specifically because the 150 Thompson project needs modifications to be feasible.
- Comment: While a public hearing was held at the previous meeting and only one person spoke, Mayor Dave Napier allowed public comment, though asked for only one representative from each group to speak. Seven people spoke, all opposed to the ordinance—including two former Council members, Julie Eastman and Dick Vitelli.
- Vote: Ultimately, Council voted 3-3 on the ordinance, with Napier casting a rare tie-breaking vote in favor of the ordinance, so it passed 4-3. Wendy Berry, Doug Fromm, and Robyn Gulley voted no. Pat Armon, Lisa Eng-Sarne, John Justen, and Napier voted yes.
Here’s some of the debate Council members had about the proposed ordinance:
- Justen: “For me, this is not all about this one project, this is about the larger scheme and getting much stronger closing of loopholes. I like seeing prevailing wage on more projects in the city, which we’re going to get, especially with that land value and tax abatement.”
- Gulley: “I still feel like there’s no way around saying this is just a way to allow a decrease in standards, so I still can’t support it.”
- Berry: “I worry significantly about future Councils and what they want to do. … I know this Council will make the right decisions and hold the right standards for everything that comes before us, but I don’t know that about the next Council.”
- Justen: “We’ll literally have to put in front of the public—us, future Councils—we’ll have to say we said this is exceptional because this, this, and this, and then the allowances we made are this, this, and this. And when those allowances become problematic, I guarantee you there will be a room this full that says these are unacceptable modifications, this isn’t an exceptional benefit.”
- Napier: “I believe we can do both. We can enforce, we can make sure prevailing wage is paid, do all of that and get a special benefit for the city tax payers.”
2026 Budget
During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council had an initial, high-level discussion about next year’s budget.
- Options: They reviewed two potential directions, one a baseline budget that keeps spending the same but accounts for known increasing costs (salary/benefits, Dakota 911, South Metro staffing and cash flow) and a revision that adds reasonable additions including the pool renovation and staff. The baseline budget would have an 8.64% increase to the property tax levy while the revision would be a 16.86% increase. That works out to an annual increase for an average single family home of $311 and $484 respectively. These were not staff recommendations, but starting points for discussion.
- Levy number: Council generally talked about being comfortable with a levy increase in the 8-10% range. From early conversations with other Dakota County cities, it sounds like they’ll be in the 7-15% range. Dakota County is also looking at a historic levy increase, potentially around 14%.
- What’s next: Staff will explore options further and present a more detailed budget by August 25 at the latest. The city has to approve a preliminary levy number by the end of September and a final number in December.
Rental License Review: Mount Carmel Manor
Council reviewed the rental license renewal for Mount Carmel Manor at 1560 Bellows Street. There have been an excessive number of police calls, totaling 36 valid issues for assault, weapons, theft, vandalism, disturbances, and burglary. The building also has compliance issues with the fire protection system.
- Representatives from the building appeared and explained that several of the issues were in the process of being addressed. They also pointed to the challenge of dealing with people who don’t get along and cause problems.
- Council unanimously approved a provisional license with a number of conditions to address the problems.
Other Items on the Agenda:
- Trees: In the consent agenda, Council accepted a nearly $300,000 grant from the Met Council to remove 75 dead ash trees and plant 250 new trees over three years.
- 3.2% liquor ordinance: Council held a public hearing (no one spoke) and unanimously approved an ordinance to update and streamline rules around 3.2% liquor licenses, removing confusion and redundancy in the process.
- Interim use permits: Council unanimously approved an ordinance to streamline the process for permits related to Christmas trees, fireworks, and other temporary uses by removing redundancies and making the process smoother for businesses.
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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