At the request of the Department of Safety and Inspections, the St. Paul City Council will hold off on voting on a proposal to allow them to levy escalating, non-criminal administrative fines and citations against residents and property owners who break city ordinances.

Several council members previously expressed some enthusiasm for the proposed charter amendment, which they called an alternative to condemning properties outright when property owners fail to keep up with mandated maintenance.

Opponents of the city’s new system of organized trash collection, however, have criticized the proposal, saying it will be used against property owners who fail to pay trash bills or comply with other rules around residential garbage removal.

DSI Director Ricardo Cervantes told the council on Wednesday that critics have expressed concern that the proposed amendment is overly broad.

“We want to make sure that the language that is being proposed has full support of our council members,” he said. Related Articles St. Paul City Council approves $600,000 charge for downtown improvement district

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The charter amendment, which narrowly passed through the city’s charter commission, needs seven council votes to win approval, and at least one or two members appeared to be on the fence.

“As the sponsor of the ordinance, we will withdraw it,” said City Council President Amy Brendmoen.