MINNEAPOLIS – Renovations to City Council offices in St. Paul are over budget, after costs rose during a year-long delay, and the council is seeking more money from the city’s cash-strapped general fund.

The $2 million project has been controversial from its outset. Former Mayor Melvin Carter vetoed renovation funds, casting the remodel as “new carpets and drapes” for council members.

Council members and staff said at the time the upgrades were about security and disability access. The project’s budget had been set back in 2021, and Carter’s veto delayed work on the project another year. When renovations started, the costs had increased with inflation.

Even after cutting some of the more expensive finishes and opting against buying as much new furniture in favor of reusing what council staff termed the “historic,” or old, furniture, the project was still $360,000 over budget.

On Wednesday, the City Council heard a proposal from council staff to add $120,000 to the city’s capital budget in each of the next three years to fund the overrun. The move would pay off a $360,000 loan the council received from the city in August.

Council Director of Operations Jay Willms said the loan was necessary to keep the project moving until the new budget year.

The council is wary of drawing out the project, both to avoid more inflationary cost increases and to keep down the cost of renting temporary office space from the city. Because about 94% of the council budget goes toward paying staff and council members, using money from the council budget would require keeping jobs vacant, or even cutting staff.

The City Council is one department among many that make up the city’s proposed $887.8 million budget for next year. The City Council has already set the maximum levy, raising property taxes by 6.8%, and is set to present amendments to Mayor Kaohly Her’s budget proposal this month to address the city’s $26 million budget gap.

The final budget is typically passed in mid-December.

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