Saint Paul police chief frames 2027 budget around cuts, hiring and violence reduction

Chief Henry, the chief of the Saint Paul Police Department, laid out the department's priorities for the 2027 general fund budget during a council committee meeting. He said the department met the mayor's target reductions and presented three budget scenarios — a constrained cuts budget, a version that funds recurring-but-unbudgeted items, and an aspirational "dream" budget — to show tradeoffs the department faces.

"We met our target," Henry said, emphasizing the pressure the cuts create for staffing and service levels. He told the council that "93% of our budget is salaries," making meaningful reductions difficult without changing how the department staffs shifts or responds to calls. Henry said the department's main operational mission for 2027 is to "manage and absorb these budget cuts while maintaining the level of service that we've been able to provide."

The chief highlighted continued focus on group and firearm violence and flagged recruitment, development and retention as central to any long-term solution. He also described investments in technology and community-focused units — such as the real-time crime information center and the nonfatal shooting unit — that he said have driven measurable declines in nonfatal shootings. The presentation included line-item changes (vehicles, parts, fuel and other recurring costs) and a proposal to adjust several user fees to better reflect market rates.

The council pushed for follow-up details, including full-year overtime actuals, a breakdown of reimbursed event billing, and the staffing plan if positions are reduced by attrition. Henry said the department will provide those figures and expects the executive team to continue refining where cuts can be taken with the least harm to core public-safety services.

The department's next steps include supplying the requested overtime and staffing detail to the council and working through internal options for how to implement reductions without compromising response to serious crime. The committee agreed to request supplemental material on specific line items and program costs.