Debates over the correct response to the continued impacts of Operation Metro Surge, specifically on housing, have been at the forefront of the metro area city council’s agendas.
On March 30, the St. Paul City Council passed ORD 26-18, requiring tenants to receive a 60-day eviction notice for non-payment from May 14 through Dec. 31 in a 7-0 vote. Ward 4 Councilmember Molly Coleman engaged in many discussions with housing advocates, renters and residents of St. Paul preceded this vote to feel sure in her vote in favor of the ordinance.
“While it is a straightforward change, it is not a small change, and it is one that we really wanted to make sure, at least for our office, that we heard a whole array of perspectives,” Coleman said.
Addressing the concerns
St. Paul Mayor Kaholy Her announced she will not sign this ordinance, citing personal experience and concerns that this ordinance will not solve the root of the problem. The eviction notice extension will still go into effect because the unanimous vote within the city council overrules the opportunity for a veto.
“My own family’s experience as refugees — working multiple jobs and living paycheck to paycheck — taught me how quickly falling behind can become an insurmountable setback. This ordinance risks leaving our most vulnerable residents worse off. We saw many of these same outcomes play out during COVID, when many renters accumulated debt that still affects their financial outlook today,” Her said in a letter to residents on March 30.
The council recognized the rippling effects from housing legislation that supported renters, but had negative economic impacts due to a lack of flow of money.
“There were concerns that harkened back to the COVID-19 era, when you had nearly two years where there was some form of an eviction moratorium,” Coleman said. “Where we landed is that this is very different from that. While it may raise some of the same concerns, this was a very targeted, narrow policy that we think is quite responsive to the moment.”
The St. Paul city council, through this ordinance and two additional tenant protection ordinances passed this summer, highlights the importance of addressing the housing crisis in this city.
“It means a lot that these are 7-0 votes,” former Ward 4 Interim Councilmember Matt Privratsky said. “I think people don’t understand how difficult it is to try and get 7 individual council members all on the same page, all willing to take a stand and firmly plant two feet on the ground, and take the heat and take the pushback … I think it speaks to how deeply and widely this need is felt throughout the city.”
Additional renter resources
St. Paul residents will still qualify for county aid during this temporary eviction notice extension.
“I think it is really important that people should know that they may still qualify. I think that may dissuade people, that they think that they won’t qualify, but actually it can sometimes be a higher number than people anticipate,” Coleman said.
The city redirected $1.42 million to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program on Feb. 24, bringing the total allocated to this program to $3.8 million. The city opened this rental assistance program for applications on April 1 and 2 and, depending on funds, will open it on the first two days of each month.
In addition to city and county aid, there is a possibility of increased state aid for renters. Privratsky is hopeful that the additional time this temporary eviction notice extension provides is the time needed to get and distribute state aid.
“Asking for state legislative action as a city leader can sometimes feel a bit naive. Counting on another level of government to bring resources on your behalf doesn’t always happen, but I am hopeful that both our St. Paul delegation and also just the legislature and the governor in general are in a place where they will be able to find a way to bring rental assistance to these families,” Privratsky said.
Rental Assistance Program: https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/planning-and-economic-development/housing/emergency-rent-assistance-program-era
