OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Budget Committee Meeting: DSI 2027 Budget Presentation - August 26, 2026

Budget Committee — Wednesday, August 26, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionBudget Committee
DateWednesday, August 26, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:26

Transcript — Verbatim
5:52

Good morning, everyone.

5:54

I'm calling our finance and budget committee to order roll call, please.

5:59

Chair Johnson.

6:01

Vice Chair Yang here.

6:03

Councilmember Bowie.

6:05

Councilmember Coleman.

6:06

Here.

6:07

Councilmember Kim?

6:08

Here.

6:09

Councilmember Yost.

6:10

It's just here.

6:12

Joe?

6:12

Councilmember Naker?

6:15

Five President.

6:16

One excuse being Councilmember Johnson.

6:19

One expected shortly being Councilmember Bowie.

6:23

Okay, thank you, Roshana.

6:24

Again, I'm Vice Chair Nelsine.

6:26

I'll be chairing today's meeting.

6:28

Before we dive right into our presentation here, I do want to recognize Roshana, our intern from the Ward 7 office.

6:36

And I know your internship will be wrapping up pretty soon here.

6:39

You're going back to college.

6:41

And so thank you so much for doing roll call and assisting with today's budget committee.

6:45

Can we all give Rashana a huge round of applause?

6:50

Thank you.

6:51

And um first on our agenda here is a presentation from our Department of Safety and Inspections.

6:58

So I'd like to welcome welcome up, Director Ia Zhang.

7:01

I see many of our DSI staff and other department staff and guests in the room here today, so thank you all for joining us.

7:08

I will hand things off to you.

7:10

Good morning, uh Vice Chair Yang, Council members.

7:13

I'm Ia Shang, the director of the Department of Safety and Inspections.

7:17

And I'm pleased to be here to present the mayor's off uh office proposal uh for 2027 for DSI.

7:26

This is the agenda that we'll be going through, and before I go into it, um I want to thank the DSI team for um helping and the OFS uh department for um supporting us.

7:39

Our uh mission at DSI is to promote safety and wellness where we live and work, prevent life and property loss, support neighborhood vitality, and promote equitable, innovative, and sustainable solutions that work for all.

7:51

Um DSI uh provides a variety of services, and uh, we're guided by um complex rules and regulations, and it can be complicated, but our budget is pretty straightforward.

8:03

For 2027, our budget proposal focuses on um continuing the utilization of non-general funds, specifically the opioid uh settlement fund and the recycling and solid waste fund, which we'll go into later also.

8:17

Um, and then maintaining our current revenue sources and the strategic utilization of vacancies.

8:26

For our 2026 budget recap, uh earlier this year um 380,000 of the housing and redevelopment authority funds was moved over to uh support the tenant protections work.

8:39

And I'll provide more information on that program in a little bit.

8:43

Uh that funding was to go towards materials and supplies and staffing.

8:48

Um if you were to add up the numbers that's shown here, it does not add up to 380 because uh the staffing as seen here was adjusted for the 2027.

8:57

Um so uh the the staff it doesn't add up to the 380.

9:03

We also have a hundred thousand that we um are putting towards solid waste and recycling fund, and this is for um the trash collection, recycling, things that would fit into uh this type of service.

9:17

The opioid settlement fund is used for heart for the five FTEs uh and for the remaining expenses.

9:25

That amounted to 621,910 for that fund.

9:32

So recent initiatives that we have um poly as a citywide implementation.

9:37

Uh for DSI, it replaced the legacy uh software programs.

9:42

Um it was implemented last year.

9:44

What we've seen so far, I just put some highlights here was we're seeing about 99% of permits uh being submitted online versus pre-Pauli was 55%.

9:55

Um we also saw 2.84 million in online payments processed in the first year.

10:00

And earlier this year, we migrated 4 million records from the old system on to the new.

10:22

Just a quick one, and it doesn't need to be answered in this moment.

10:25

But I'm wondering around sort of the ways that you because so much of what poly is being automated.

10:33

What are the ways that you're working with other departments to like compare notes and upload notes from other departments to the poly system?

10:41

I've come across a few things just recently where you know notes from maybe SPPD or from other departments would be useful in the consideration of sort of this automated uh automated um approvals.

10:55

Um so don't have to answer today, but just wondering like if part of the implementation is uploading information from other departments and how they can contribute to maybe um documentation for license conditions and things like that.

11:09

So do not have to answer it now, but like for respectfully submitting to you, Director.

11:15

So Vice Chair Yang, Councilmember, um, I will uh touch on that later in one of the slides.

11:21

Great.

11:23

Um the funding that for the project is shown here from ARPA funds, and we do have a project management contract that ends at the end of this year for um uh that service to help us with the poly implementation.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget██████████████████████████████████34%
Tenant Protections██████████████████18%
Youth Programs████████████████16%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Public Safety██████6%
Procedural████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Animal Welfare█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Budget Committee Meeting: DSI 2027 Budget Presentation - August 26, 2026

The Budget Committee of the Saint Paul City Council, chaired by Vice Chair Nelsie Yang, convened on August 26, 2026, at 10:00 AM in the Council Chambers. The sole agenda item was a presentation from the Department of Safety and Inspections (DSI) on its proposed 2027 budget, led by Director Ia Zhang. The presentation covered recent initiatives, staffing changes, revenue trends, and use of special funds. The committee received and filed the presentation. The meeting also featured brief remarks from two student participants—a Right Track intern and a high school shadow.

Discussion Items

  • DSI Budget Overview: Director Zhang presented a 2027 budget focused on maintaining non-general fund utilization (opioid settlement fund and recycling/solid waste fund), maintaining current revenue sources, and strategic use of vacancies. Key highlights included the ongoing implementation of the "Poly" digital permitting system (99% of permits submitted online vs. 55% pre-Poly; $2.84 million in online payments processed in the first year; 4 million records migrated). The citywide implementation has improved response times for complaint intake. Councilmember Bowie and others asked about coordination with other departments on uploading notes into Poly; Director Zhang noted later slides would address that.

  • Tenant Protections Program: A $380,000 one-time Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) fund was previously allocated to tenant protections, supporting two staff positions initially, then increased by three mid-year 2026 (total five). The 2027 proposal reduces by two positions (one customer service rep at half-time and one DSI Inspector I in code enforcement), leaving three positions dedicated to tenant protections and rent stabilization. Director Zhang stated the program has seen a slow ramp-up, focusing on outreach and education. Councilmember Bowie asked about organizational placement and supervision; Director Zhang confirmed a Management Assistant (MA) will provide oversight. Councilmember Coleman requested data on inspector workloads and response times post-Poly. The half-time CSR position has been difficult to fill due to high turnover; the inspector position is currently filled by a retiree expected to vacate. Councilmember Bowie expressed concern about losing customer service capacity given mixed feedback from residents, including reports of inequitable treatment and racism.

  • Staffing and Position Changes: The 2027 proposed changes result in a net decrease of 0.5 FTE (three positions added, two reduced). Changes include converting an Accountant 4 to Accountant 3 (due to retirement), eliminating a half-time CSR, and removing one DSI Inspector I. A new Procedures Coordinator position (funded via a job study) will support business improvement and Poly. Director Zhang noted high turnover for fire safety inspectors due to lack of take-home vehicles and pay disparities compared to other jurisdictions, though the city is exploring partnering with other departments for vehicles.

  • Revenue and Fund Balances: Revenue continues to grow, driven by rising valuations and cannabis registration fees. The budget reflects historical trends for summary abatement (ground maintenance) to match actuals. The cyberattack and Poly implementation delayed invoicing and cash receipting; the city expects to recover $1.8 million from 2025, which will accrue to the city's fund balance, not the 2027 budget. Councilmember Kim asked about the types of outstanding invoices (business licensing, etc.). OFS representative clarified that recovery is counted as a use of fund balance if needed.

  • City General Fund Increase: The general fund request for 2027 increases significantly ($1.9 million in current service level adjustments) due to contractual employee cost increases and a market study that boosted some DSI positions. Council President Noecker questioned why the increase was larger than previous years; OFS explained it was a one-time adjustment, not expected to recur.

  • Heart Team: Funded through opioid settlement funds (five FTEs including outreach and code enforcement). The team continues to conduct outreach and cleanup for unsheltered individuals. Councilmember Bowie asked about future vision; Director Zhang noted HART is part of a larger citywide effort with other departments (OFN, Cares, Familiar Faces).

  • Student Guests: Vice Chair Yang recognized Roshana (intern from Ward 7 office) and Caitlin Hang, a high school student shadowing from Johnson Senior High School. Caitlin shared her inspiration from Councilmember Noecker's Right Track career panel. Roshana thanked the council for opportunities. Council members expressed appreciation and noted the importance of programs like Right Track.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee received and filed the DSI 2027 Budget Presentation (SR 26-179) as per the minutes.
  • No formal votes were taken; the presentation was informational.
  • Several council members requested additional data: inspector staffing and workload numbers (Coleman), detailed breakdown of the $1.9 million general fund increase (Noecker), and a list of outstanding invoices by category (Kim).
  • The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:30 AM.

Meeting Transcript

Good morning, everyone. I'm calling our finance and budget committee to order roll call, please. Chair Johnson. Vice Chair Yang here. Councilmember Bowie. Councilmember Coleman. Here. Councilmember Kim? Here. Councilmember Yost. It's just here. Joe? Councilmember Naker? Five President. One excuse being Councilmember Johnson. One expected shortly being Councilmember Bowie. Okay, thank you, Roshana. Again, I'm Vice Chair Nelsine. I'll be chairing today's meeting. Before we dive right into our presentation here, I do want to recognize Roshana, our intern from the Ward 7 office. And I know your internship will be wrapping up pretty soon here. You're going back to college. And so thank you so much for doing roll call and assisting with today's budget committee. Can we all give Rashana a huge round of applause? Thank you. And um first on our agenda here is a presentation from our Department of Safety and Inspections. So I'd like to welcome welcome up, Director Ia Zhang. I see many of our DSI staff and other department staff and guests in the room here today, so thank you all for joining us. I will hand things off to you. Good morning, uh Vice Chair Yang, Council members. I'm Ia Shang, the director of the Department of Safety and Inspections. And I'm pleased to be here to present the mayor's off uh office proposal uh for 2027 for DSI. This is the agenda that we'll be going through, and before I go into it, um I want to thank the DSI team for um helping and the OFS uh department for um supporting us. Our uh mission at DSI is to promote safety and wellness where we live and work, prevent life and property loss, support neighborhood vitality, and promote equitable, innovative, and sustainable solutions that work for all. Um DSI uh provides a variety of services, and uh, we're guided by um complex rules and regulations, and it can be complicated, but our budget is pretty straightforward. For 2027, our budget proposal focuses on um continuing the utilization of non-general funds, specifically the opioid uh settlement fund and the recycling and solid waste fund, which we'll go into later also. Um, and then maintaining our current revenue sources and the strategic utilization of vacancies. For our 2026 budget recap, uh earlier this year um 380,000 of the housing and redevelopment authority funds was moved over to uh support the tenant protections work. And I'll provide more information on that program in a little bit. Uh that funding was to go towards materials and supplies and staffing. Um if you were to add up the numbers that's shown here, it does not add up to 380 because uh the staffing as seen here was adjusted for the 2027. Um so uh the the staff it doesn't add up to the 380. We also have a hundred thousand that we um are putting towards solid waste and recycling fund, and this is for um the trash collection, recycling, things that would fit into uh this type of service. The opioid settlement fund is used for heart for the five FTEs uh and for the remaining expenses. That amounted to 621,910 for that fund. So recent initiatives that we have um poly as a citywide implementation. Uh for DSI, it replaced the legacy uh software programs. Um it was implemented last year. What we've seen so far, I just put some highlights here was we're seeing about 99% of permits uh being submitted online versus pre-Pauli was 55%. Um we also saw 2.84 million in online payments processed in the first year.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com