St. Paul mayor asks police chief to cut $9.2M from 2021 budget

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS obtained an email sent last Friday by St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell to every police department employee in which he describes the possibility of cutting police jobs — both sworn officers and civilian jobs.

In the email, Chief Axtell laid out what a $9.2-million cut would like for the St. Paul Police Department for 2021:

"Mayor Carter has directed the police department to present a $9.2 million cut from its budget. …Sadly, the cold, hard truth is that cuts mean positions. It means positions both sworn and civilian, at all ranks."

A spokesperson for Mayor Carter issued this statement regarding the proposed budget cuts to SPPD:

"While the mayor has yet to make final decisions about the budget he’ll propose to the City Council next month, the realities of a global economic crisis are likely to require reductions in every city department,” said Communications Director Peter Leggett. “We are considering every option to avoid adding a large property tax increase to the challenges our residents are currently facing.”

Read the full email below:

(Link to document)