Minneapolis BET approves 2026 maximum levy after narrow increase for parks

Steve Brandt, president of the Board of Estimate and Taxation, presided over a contentious vote on the board’s setting of maximum property tax levies for taxes payable in 2026, approving an amended levy that raises the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board levy while leaving most city levy levels at the mayor’s recommendation.

Why it matters: The BET’s certified maximums set the top-end of what the City Council can adopt; changes affect how much revenue the city and the park board may raise from property taxes and frame budget negotiations that follow at the council and park-board levels.

The board voted 4–2 to adopt the mayor’s recommended levy as amended to increase the park and recreation fund levy to $94,000,956 and the total property tax levy to $544,545,056. Vice President Pre Stinson and Commissioner Abene introduced the successful amendment to raise the park levy; the mayor opposed the increase and President Brandt voted no.

Discussion before the vote touched on the balance between keeping property taxes down and funding new park facilities. Tom Olsen, an at-large commissioner on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation…