The St. Paul Police Department plans to keep 16 vacant jobs unfilled next year, with nearly half of them community engagement cadets, under the mayor’s proposed budget, the police chief told the City Council on Wednesday.

No current officers or other police department employees would lose their jobs.

Mayor Melvin Carter presented his 2026 budget proposal on Sept. 4. The City Council is now receiving weekly informational presentations from the city’s departments before it finalizes the budget in December.

Carter’s $887 million proposed budget for the coming year would rely on a 5.3% property tax levy increase, roughly comparable to this year’s 5.9% increase and about average for the decade.

The 2026 budget would expand investment in housing programs, such as office-to-housing conversion

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