City cuts sweetheart deal with Madison Equities for Downtown real estate.
- Plaza valued at $326,000 sells for $2,500
- Closed door deal excludes oversight and competition.
city council
In St. Paul, taxes rise and rise and rise. Can we talk more about this?
This article was first published in the Pioneer Press on December 1, 2019. The published version of this article and reader comments are available on the Pioneer Press’s website. View on TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press) Late last month, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter proposed a supplemental budget in addition to the one he proposed in August, …
In St. Paul, taxes rise and rise and rise. Can we talk more about this? Read More »
Saint Paul City Council Candidate Forums
On October 8th and 9th 2019, Saint Paul STRONG hosted two candidate forums featuring candidates for City Council in partnership with SPNN. The full recordings are available below:
St. Paul City Hall Continues to Hide Behind ‘Quasi-Judicial Authority’
The St. Paul City Council has two main roles. The first is legislative, and involves creating laws and ordinances that seek to benefit the health, safety and viability of citizens. The second is “quasi-judicial,” and requires the council to apply laws to make decide whether to allow a project to be built in the city. …
St. Paul City Hall Continues to Hide Behind ‘Quasi-Judicial Authority’ Read More »
City Hall needs to learn from and be honest about its mistakes for Saint Paul to prosper
The St. Paul City Council meeting on August 21, 2019 highlighted a serious problem with St. Paul city government. Why can’t it learn from its mistakes? The council has had to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars for mistakes of city staffers (E.g., $800,000 for Black Bear Crossing; $2 million St. Paul Police Department) …
City Hall needs to learn from and be honest about its mistakes for Saint Paul to prosper Read More »
Trash, fees, franchises … St. Paul keeps making costly legal mistakes. Why?
This article was first published in the Pioneer Press on June 23rd, 2019. The published version of this article and reader comments are available on the Pioneer Press’s website. View on TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press) Some people think St. Paul’s current organized trash collection system stinks. No matter where you side on that issue, I think …
Trash, fees, franchises … St. Paul keeps making costly legal mistakes. Why? Read More »
Let’s know more before we let St. Paul levy more fines
This article was first published in the Pioneer Press on May 5, 2019. The published version of this article and reader comments are available on the Pioneer Press’s website. View on TwinCities.com (Pioneer Press) St. Paul’s City Charter is the city’s version of its constitution. It should not be easy to change. Yet, without much …
Let’s know more before we let St. Paul levy more fines Read More »
Saint Paul Officials Bend the Rules at the Risk of Losing the Public Trust
St. Paul STRONG is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving accessible and representative government in St. Paul. We do not take positions on issues, but support inclusive, transparent and accountable public processes. Public trust is the key to a stronger St. Paul. Only when everyone in the city is treated equally and public officials are …
Saint Paul Officials Bend the Rules at the Risk of Losing the Public Trust Read More »