St. Paul Mayor Carter announces 2024 budget goals, emphasizing importance of investing in public safety amid recent gun violence
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The positive spin that typically surrounds political budget proposals took a more somber tone on Thursday morning.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter paused his 2024 budget announcement to address recent gun violence.
"Please join me in a brief moment of silence for Markee and his brother and his family," said Carter.
Markee Jones, 12, died Saturday morning after what his family calls an accidental shooting.
Mayor Carter reminded the community of the "Safe Storage ordinance" he passed earlier this year requiring guns to be locked and unloaded in homes.
"Our approach hasn't been to just focus on any one initiative at all, or any one kind of proposal at all. It's been to be all in," Carter said. "It's been to be working with the attorney general to hold gun stores accountable when they sell guns with impunity to obvious straw buyers in our community," said Carter.
Another branch of public safety is the fire department. Several of St. Paul's unionized firefighters showed up to Mayor Carter's speech to voice their frustration with the ongoing union contract negotiations.
"Pay us! We deserve better. Don't be absent, call us to the table, and let's settle it," said Mike Smith, president of Saint Paul Firefighters IAFF Local 21, in a tense interaction with Mayor Carter Thursday morning before his budget address.
Mayor Carter acknowledged their fight in his speech.
"To the firefighters in attendance today, I see you and I am as eager as you are to resolve your contract," said Carter.
Smith says St. Paul firefighters have been working without a contract for more than 200 days. They want a deal as soon as possible because they're stretched too thin.
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"We want to put a competitive package out there where people want to come to St. Paul. With the run volume, the less pay, why would anybody want to come here?" said Smith.
If a deal with the firefighters union isn't reached soon, arbitration is scheduled to begin at the end of the month.
Mayor Carter says he also plans to raise property taxes by nearly 4% and put a sales tax proposal to vote in the fall. He also proposed a plan to wipe out $100 million of medical debt for city residents. That spending still has to be approved by the city council.
