City approves first reading of 2026 fee ordinance; utility rates to rise as planned

Saint Louis Park’s City Council on Tuesday approved the first reading of an ordinance to adopt the city’s 2026 fee schedule and set the second reading for Sept. 15, 2025. The council opened a public hearing, received one in-person comment and then voted to move the ordinance forward.

The vote follows a presentation by Amelia Kruger, the city’s finance director, who told the council that departments review fees annually to match the cost of providing services and to inform the city’s 2026 budget assumptions. Kruger said most fees will be adjusted for inflation, some fees were consolidated or removed, and several new fees were added. She said the new fee schedule and utility rates would take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, if the ordinance is adopted after the second reading.

Kruger said staff eliminated a separate rental-licensing fee that had applied only to properties owned by the housing authority so that all rental properties now pay the same fee; THC-related licensing fees will be handled by the state beginning in 2026 and were removed from the city schedule; wood-chip delivery service used by the city will no longer be offered; and a fee tied to a previously required crime-free multi-housing training was removed after the underlying ordinance was repealed. New fees include an application fee for a tree protection permit, a fee to produce variance/zoning verification letters, and fees tied to outdoor seating and patio rentals. Kruger also noted that appendix A of the ordinance contains the full fee schedule and is available online.

The presentation also covered utility rates. Kruger said the city completed a multi‑year risk assessment for water main infrastructure and built a capital improvement plan that increases planned water‑main replacement spending. To fund the capital…