This week, the Saint Paul City Council will vote on a charter change to correct an inequity in our City Charter. This critical change creates the ability for the city to more effectively respond to violations of ordinances by larger, out-of-city property owners and employers to protect our local renters, workers and neighborhoods across Saint Paul. As the lead councilmembers sponsoring this ordinance, we want to lay out why it matters deeply for our city. Among the 25 largest municipalities in Minnesota, Saint Paul is the only city that is currently unable to use administrative citations — otherwise known as civil fines — to enforce its ordinances. This is a tool local governments in Minnesota and nationwide commonly use every day to hold accountable bad actors like corporate landlords who refuse to make repairs in apartment buildings; predatory employers who refuse to pay working people the wages they are owed; and large commercial building owners who refuse to do their part to keep the neighborhood corner store safe for residents. As public leaders, we ran for office to ensure Saint Paul is a place where everyone can live a good life. We know local government is on the front lines of helping people address their most pressing, day-to-day needs so that community dreams can become community realities. To do this, we need every tool available at our disposal to go after bad actors who exploit our workers, residents and neighborhoods by failing to follow our city codes. From the blighted CVS in the Midway to the abject failure of Madison Equities to maintain properties across our downtown made painfully visible at the Lowry, administrative citations would provide us with stronger tools to hold corporations accountable for endangering the safety of our residents and neighborhoods. No renter should ever have to experience the extreme health and safety concerns — and ultimately, displacement — that the Lowry tenants have experienced. No neighborhood should have to accept chronic, blighted properties managed by out-of-state corporate ownership. Administrative citations create another mechanism our city government needs to fight back against the biggest, most problematic landlords in Saint Paul. Our residents should not have to pay the price of their complacency and neglect. 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Currently, there are many instances where the City’s only legal recourse is charging someone with a criminal misdemeanor. In many cases, this response is too heavy-handed. It needlessly criminalizes Saint Paul residents, impacting their ability to access housing and employment, and worsens existing disparities in our diverse city. Passing administrative citations is necessary to decriminalize numerous city violations and ensure fair and just enforcement in our capital city. Furthermore, the City would not use this tool for situations where adequate municipal authority already exists to uphold the health and safety of our residents. Common problems like overgrown lawns, trash in the alley, or unshoveled sidewalks are already addressed through the summary abatement process, a city tool that charges violators just for the costs incurred by the work to resolve the problem. The charter change is necessary to take on the bigger, worse actors that these types of penalties cannot be applied to under current law. Alongside this correction to our charter, we are committed to fair, just and equitable implementation with racial justice at the center. We know that fines and fees have no place as a revenue-generating tool for departments. We support separating the issuance of fines and fees from departmental budgets, removing any incentive to use them as a revenue source. We can uphold restorative justice by ensuring the City continues to prioritize education, outreach and resources for compliance first, reserving stronger accountability measures as later options only when needed. We can also create community-driven solutions like a resident advisory committee that advises on the ongoing use of this tool from an equity lens, so that past harms from excessive fines and fees are not replicated in the future. Additionally, it is important to clarify that the City cannot immediately start using this tool everywhere once the charter change passes. Instead, each ordinance – whether it is wage-theft, renter protections, or rent stabilization – must be carefully updated by the Council through an open and deliberative public process. This allows councilmembers to require that fine amounts are carefully set to avoid excessive penalties; ensure there is a clear appeals process for challenging citations; and create an “ability to pay” pathway to provide relief for anyone who may face financial difficulties. In its oversight role, the Council can also request implementation data by neighborhood and monitor the usage of this new tool annually for public transparency. More broadly, in recent years the City of Saint Paul has built a track record of taking action to reform municipal fines and fees. This charter change is an extension of that commitment to economic justice. Under Mayor Carter’s leadership and with the council, Saint Paul libraries have gone fine-free; Saint Paul city government led the way on COVID fine- and fee-relief efforts; and our capital city was nationally recognized for its leadership on fines and fee justice. This historic charter change would build on these forward-facing and overdue reforms. Only once this charter change is passed, though, can these next steps begin so that Saint Paul residents can have the city on their side in every way that they want and deserve. Without this charter change, we will continue to see the neglect in our neighborhoods that corporate landlords are getting away with too easily – neglect that disproportionately impacts people of color and working-class families in our city. In a time where many everyday people are struggling to believe that the government can positively impact their lives, we must show — not tell — that it’s happening here in Saint Paul. This charter change can chart a better course for Saint Paul workers, residents, and neighborhoods, and pave a more equitable path for the future. Mitra Jalali is president of the St. Paul City Council. She represents Ward 4. HwaJeong Kim is vice president of the council. She represents Ward 5. Council Member Saura Jost represents Ward 3.