It’s been 50 years since the city of St. Paul had a Public Safety Committee, but the city council voted on Wednesday to approve a new committee that will oversee the spending of police, fire, and safety inspections.

City Council Member Anika Bowie led the efforts to create the new Public Safety Committee and said things such as police overtime expenses and other issues will get more detailed attention under the new committee.

“It’s about giving the public a transparent space,” said Bowie. “Public safety is no less important. And arguably, in my Ward, some of the most urgent and most visible functions of our government are public safety.”

Her colleague, City Council Member Hwa Jeong Kim, supported the measure, which passed on a 5-2 vote.

“Pushing back against the idea that there can only be one committee that looks at public safety for the city. Isn’t more better?” asked Bowie. “Isn’t more voices, more ideas, more people included in the process better for a more robust approach?”

Council members Nelsie Yang and Matt Privratsky disagreed with the creation of a new committee and stated it was government overlap with unnecessary duplication.

“Clear distinctions between our roles and committees is real important to me so that we can stay organized in our work. We can be disciplined, and we can also be very efficient,” said Yang.

On Monday afternoon, St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry sent the following statement: “The Saint Paul Police Department welcomes any opportunity to help educate our community about our department and our efforts to help keep everyone safe. We will only maximize these efforts by working together and we hope this will include the members of the Council’s new Public Safety Committee.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS reached out to the St. Paul Police Federation for comment but have not yet received a message back.