OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Paul Budget Committee Meeting - July 15, 2026: State Demography and Downtown Revitalization

City Council — Wednesday, July 15, 2026
BodySt Paul, Minnesota
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, July 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:42:43

Transcript — Verbatim
5:28

Council President.

5:33

All right, calling the City Council budget committee to order.

5:37

Roll call, please.

5:39

Chair Jonathan?

5:40

Here.

5:40

Vice Chair Yang.

5:42

Councilmember Wowie?

5:43

Here.

5:43

Council Member Coleman.

5:46

Councilmember Kim.

5:48

Councilmember Joe.

5:49

And Council President Acre.

5:51

Here.

5:52

Six present and one absent.

5:55

Being Councilmember Kim.

5:58

Thank you.

5:59

So we have like oh who is now entering the room?

6:03

Wonderful.

6:03

We have two presentations today, one from the state demographer as well.

6:08

So as our also important topic on downtown revitalization.

6:12

So I will kick it over to our chief budget officer Kamut Firma, who can introduce our uh state demographer Susan Brower.

6:21

Thank you, Joe Johnson.

6:23

We have um Dr.

6:24

Brown from State Demography Office to do a presentation on uh Minnesota state um demography trends and impact.

6:33

Thank you.

6:34

Welcome, welcome, Miss Brower.

6:36

Thank you.

6:37

It's good to be here.

6:38

Um the data that I've provided for you today.

6:42

Uh first I'll begin kind of broadly with what's happening with growth and its impact on budgets, and then I'll go into specifics for St.

6:51

Paul.

7:01

Is there one in here?

7:02

Yeah, there's one in here.

7:03

Oh, sorry.

7:11

Whoa.

7:14

Well, we apologize.

7:16

Thank you, Ramsay County Sheriff's Office.

7:18

Toilets are broken again.

7:22

I apologize.

7:23

Okay, wonderful.

7:24

Sorry for the distraction.

7:26

And my clumsiness.

7:30

No, I didn't even know there was a okay, wonderful.

7:33

Well, now we know.

7:34

Yeah, the button works.

7:35

It does.

7:37

Um, so I've been talking to a lot of people across the state, a lot of regional mayors, including your own, about what's happening with growth across the state, across the US, and its impact on budgets.

7:49

And so I'm gonna start with that.

7:51

Um, but I do want to assure you that um the growth, uh, the slowing of growth that we're seeing in Minnesota is impacting many cities across, not all, but many cities across uh the state.

8:06

And so I just kind of want you to understand that foundation as you move into your budget uh cycle or or your decisions that you're making just to understand that context.

8:17

So this is kind of the long trajectory, basically, since we've had censuses in Minnesota or since Minnesota has been a state uh to show the trajectory of growth, and for as long as we as long as the eye can see looking backward in our history, we've been growing.

8:37

This is a statewide number.

8:39

But you can see just around 2010, that's beginning to bend flat.

8:44

Uh, it's beginning to level off, just not the level of growth that we've seen in the past.

8:48

We we aren't expecting that or projecting that for the future.

8:52

This isn't unique to Minnesota.

8:54

Many other states are going through this, especially states in the Midwest and the Northeast, and I will show you why it is happening right now.

9:05

One of the main things that is uh driver of growth is what demographers call natural change, and that's just kind of our own internal growth momentum, the number of births that we have each year minus the number of deaths.

9:19

And that's what we're looking at here, this natural growth.

9:34

Um, if no one moved in or out, this is just how the state would grow.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Fiscal Sustainability██████████████████████████████37%
Public Safety████5%
Homelessness██2%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Paul Budget Committee Meeting – July 15, 2026

The Budget Committee of the Saint Paul City Council met on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at 10:00 AM in Council Chambers. The meeting featured two presentations: an update from the Minnesota State Demographer on demographic trends and their budget implications, and a presentation on downtown revitalization efforts led by Assistant Mayor Summer Langer. Both items were received and filed.

Presentation: Minnesota State Demography (SR 26-139)

State Demographer Susan Brower presented an overview of population trends affecting Minnesota and Saint Paul. Key points:

  • Slowing growth: Minnesota's historically robust population growth has leveled off since 2010 due to declining natural increase (births minus deaths). The state's total fertility rate is 1.7 births per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1.
  • Natural change: Annual natural increase dropped from ~30,000 in 2010 to just over 10,000 in the most recent period. This is driven by an aging population and falling birth rates.
  • Migration: Domestic net migration has been consistently negative for ~20 years, with more people leaving Minnesota than coming from other states. International migration had a spike in 2022–2024 (up to 30,000 net in 2024) but dropped sharply to ~10,000 in 2025 and is expected to approach zero in 2026. For Ramsey County, international net migration fell from 4,700 (2024) to 2,300 (2025).
  • St. Paul trends: St. Paul experienced historic growth in the 2010s but has seen erratic year-over-year changes since 2020. Metropolitan Council estimates show an average annual gain of about 300 residents; Census Bureau estimates show a loss of about 90 per year.
  • Implications: Slower growth challenges budgeting as per-person costs for services increase and tax base growth slows. The city cannot rely on growth to solve fiscal gaps.
  • Poverty: St. Paul's poverty rate for children is 20% and for seniors 15%, both higher than regional and state averages. These rates have moved with economic cycles.

Councilmembers asked questions about the causes of domestic out-migration, the impact of federal immigration policy, and data quality concerns for vulnerable populations. Council President Noecker highlighted the poverty data as a concern.

Presentation: Downtown Revitalization (SR 26-140)

Assistant Mayor Summer Langer, joined by partners from Ramsey County and the Downtown Development Corporation, presented a comprehensive update on downtown revitalization. The presentation covered:

  • Why downtown matters: Downtown is a critical tax base; declining property values shift tax burden to residential properties. Several downtown buildings have seen significant value declines since 2006.
  • Partnerships: The city works closely with the Downtown Alliance, Downtown Improvement District, Downtown Development Corporation, Ramsey County, Visit St. Paul, and many private and institutional partners.
  • City investments: HRA commercial corridor programs, $5 million Downtown Vitality Fund, Neighborhood STAR grants, park investments (Pedro Park opened 2025, Wabasha Park completion fall 2026), park activations, public works projects, Gultier Plaza housing conversion (166 market-rate units), and policy initiatives (signage district, zoning study, parking ramp consolidation RFP).
  • Public safety: Coordination among SPPD, Metro Transit, Ramsey County Sheriff, DID safety ambassadors, and private security. A community prosecutor funded by DID will start in fall. A retail theft initiative is underway. Parking enforcement has increased (more citations in 2026 than all of 2025 by early June).
  • Housing: Several projects: Landmark Towers (187 units), Mary Hall (88 affordable units), Stella residences (178 units), Gultier Plaza (166 units). Goal to increase downtown population from 10,000 to 30,000.
  • Major developments: St. Joseph's campus demolition/greenfield, $50M state funding for Grand Casino Arena/River Center/Roy Wilkins, $13M for sewer redevelopment on West 7th. Ramsey County committed funds for housing, public realm, and economic development.
  • Private investments: Downtown Revitalization Trust purchased First National and Great Northern buildings; Ecolab, Securian, Travelers campus improvements; St. Paul Hotel new ownership with renovation plans.
  • New businesses: Examples include Jenny's Cafe, Lenoir Bridal, Aldi (opening later 2026), Pinot's Pizzeria, St. Paul Indoor Farmers Market, several coffee shops, and a menswear store.
  • Events and activation: Example two-week calendar showing festivals, park activations, community events, and skyway activities.
  • Strategy: Coordinate partners, respond to inquiries, cut ribbons, be nimble, treat downtown as a pilot zone for citywide innovation.

Councilmembers asked about property tax relief timeline, large employer attraction, quality-of-life crime enforcement, and homelessness response. Assistant Mayor Langer acknowledged the need for patience and incremental progress. Josh Olson (Ramsey County) noted the county's "Building Stronger Together" initiative and that planning for the $100 million downtown investment is underway with more details expected in 1–2 months. Dave Higgins (Public Works) emphasized the need for continued investment and targeted corridors (Fifth, Kellogg, Wabasha, Robert). Joe Spencer (Downtown Development Corporation) expressed optimism, noting that market bottom may be near but property tax assessments will lag, and urged sustained commitment.

Key Outcomes

  • Both SR 26-139 (Demography Presentation) and SR 26-140 (Downtown Revitalization) were received and filed by unanimous voice vote.
  • No formal votes or referrals were made beyond acceptance of the presentations.
  • Councilmembers requested future updates on the county's downtown investment plans and continued partnership on homelessness response.

Meeting Transcript

Council President. All right, calling the City Council budget committee to order. Roll call, please. Chair Jonathan? Here. Vice Chair Yang. Councilmember Wowie? Here. Council Member Coleman. Councilmember Kim. Councilmember Joe. And Council President Acre. Here. Six present and one absent. Being Councilmember Kim. Thank you. So we have like oh who is now entering the room? Wonderful. We have two presentations today, one from the state demographer as well. So as our also important topic on downtown revitalization. So I will kick it over to our chief budget officer Kamut Firma, who can introduce our uh state demographer Susan Brower. Thank you, Joe Johnson. We have um Dr. Brown from State Demography Office to do a presentation on uh Minnesota state um demography trends and impact. Thank you. Welcome, welcome, Miss Brower. Thank you. It's good to be here. Um the data that I've provided for you today. Uh first I'll begin kind of broadly with what's happening with growth and its impact on budgets, and then I'll go into specifics for St. Paul. Is there one in here? Yeah, there's one in here. Oh, sorry. Whoa. Well, we apologize. Thank you, Ramsay County Sheriff's Office. Toilets are broken again. I apologize. Okay, wonderful. Sorry for the distraction. And my clumsiness. No, I didn't even know there was a okay, wonderful. Well, now we know. Yeah, the button works. It does. Um, so I've been talking to a lot of people across the state, a lot of regional mayors, including your own, about what's happening with growth across the state, across the US, and its impact on budgets. And so I'm gonna start with that. Um, but I do want to assure you that um the growth, uh, the slowing of growth that we're seeing in Minnesota is impacting many cities across, not all, but many cities across uh the state. And so I just kind of want you to understand that foundation as you move into your budget uh cycle or or your decisions that you're making just to understand that context.

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