Park board seeks funds to staff Graco and Upper Harbor parks; mayor’s budget covers part of request

Julie Wiseman, finance director for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and Superintendent Al Bangorra presented the MPRB’s 2026 maximum property tax levy request to the Board of Estimate and Taxation at the Sept. 10 meeting. The park board’s request is a 6.75 percent maximum levy for 2026; the mayor’s recommended budget includes a 4.92 percent increase for the park board.

Wiseman said the park board’s request is focused on sustaining current service levels and funding operations for new riverfront sites. That request includes $3.4 million for wages and fringe benefits — an item the mayor’s recommendation fully supports — plus roughly $2.6 million in additional items only partially supported by the mayor. The gap between the park board’s maximum request and the mayor’s recommendation is roughly $1.6 million (about 1.33 percent of total city tax), according to Wiseman.

Parks details: Wiseman outlined two riverfront…