Community members in St. Paul met on Tuesday to discuss Mayor Melvin Carter’s proposed plan for the 2025 budget with city leaders.

The proposed $855 million budget includes a property tax increase of nearly eight percent.

Officials say in total, if the budget is approved as is, the average homeowner would pay about $11 more per month. The money from that nearly eight percent tax increase would be used to help invest in things such as public safety, housing and homeless response.

Wayne Johnson, a St. Paul resident, spoke at the meeting, saying, “When I moved into my neighborhood 32 years ago, it was a solidly middle-class, single-wage earner household. Now, the households are two professionals or independently rich to afford a house.”

RELATED: St. Paul mayor proposes 7.9% property tax increase for 2025

“We need somebody who can coordinate a program that will actually allow communities to observe what’s happening in their communities, and come up with solutions and make that happen,” said Chauntyll Allen, Co-founder of Black Lives Matter in the Twin Cities.

Public safety was a big topic last week Wednesday, when both the St. Paul Fire and Police Departments outlined their needs to city council members.

Police Chief Axel Henry said currently – like so many departments across the country – the department is not operating at full strength and is down 60 officers. In turn, Chief Henry said that means increased costs when it comes to overtime hours for the officers filling those empty shifts.

“We have to go to the calls. We have to have police out there 365 days, 24 hours a day. So, we fill the gap of our loss, because we’re already very lean as a police department. We have to fill it with overtime and so the more we have to do in overtime shifts, the more expensive it becomes,” said Herny. “To think about it in plain language, for every dollar’s worth of labor, we’re spending $1.50 for that hole we’re trying to fill.”

Council member Nelsie Yang also spoke, saying, “We have to balance all the different priorities, that not only what departments need but also residents to follow.”

Tuesday’s listening session is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center.

Minneapolis citizens had a chance to sound off on their city’s budget proposal on Monday night. Councilors there are considering a budget of nearly $1.9 billion for 2025, which includes an eight percent property tax increase. For the owner of a $300,000 home, that would mean an increase of more than $200.

The proposal also includes the first year of raises for police, which will total 21% over three years.

Monday’s meeting was the first of three public hearings on the budget proposal.

The Minneapolis City Council is expected to take a final vote on the budget in December.