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City Council to Begin Assessing Administrative Fines

The St. Paul City Council voted last month to allow a change to the city charter to give the council the authority to assess administrative fines for infractions to city ordinances.

St. Paul was the only major city in Minnesota without the power to administer fines, which, advocates said, limited their ability to enforce those breaking the law.

The change to the city charter allows the City to fine rule breakers without seeking criminal charges.

“Many of you have contacted me in frustration about powerful players getting away with illegal behavior – from downtown building owners locking skyway doors to large corporations denying their employees the wages they’ve earned,” Said Ward 2 Councilmember Rebecca Noecker on social media. “Until now, we haven’t had an effective way to hold those actors accountable. That all changed last night when the City Council unanimously approved a charter change that will allow us to impose administrative citations.” 

Additionally, Councilmembers voted to approve the creation of a task force to study how the new rules affect equity in the city. The task force will study the action of the council over the next year to ensure the new fine structure does not disproportionately impact low-income residents and people of color.

The ordinance allows the Council to assess fines, but they must be considered and passed individually by the council.

The new ordinance goes into effect in 90 days.

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