Crookston budget shortfall prompts debate over closing community pool as residents plead to save it

Crookston leaders and residents spent Tuesday night weighing how to close a multi‑million‑dollar gap revealed in the city’s 2023 audit, with multiple residents urging the council not to cut the community pool.

At the meeting, a resident who identified herself as Anna Olgard Bracken told the council she and her four children rely on the Crookston pool and that she had submitted a petition with “over 1,100 signatures” asking the city to reconsider cuts. “I urge you to reconsider these cuts to our youth programs,” she said during the open forum.

City staff said the audit disclosed a more constrained picture of the city’s finances than previously reported. “When we got our audit in September, that audit was an absolute game changer,” Jeff told the council, describing new entries and accounting errors the city has begun to correct. He said the city has $10.7 million on the books but that roughly $5 million of that is restricted by statute or committed to contracts and grants.

Jeff said the city’s unassigned fund balance — the amount available to spend for any legal purpose — is about $1.14 million, while a cash policy guided by the state auditor recommends roughly 45% of operating expenses be held in unassigned reserves. That leaves the city about $2.4–$2.5 million short of the policy target for 2025, he said; staff are searching for a mix of savings, reallocated enterprise funds, grant reimbursements and bonding options to close the gap.

Residents told council the pool has social and safety value. “Most recently, we have participated in two summer swim lessons and have frequented open swim when we are able,” Bracken said, describing the burden of traveling for lessons if the local pool closes. Another resident, Matt Rasu, criticized the process that led to the proposed cut and urged the council to keep public input in mind: “Our kids deserve it,” he said.

Council members and staff outlined options for narrowing the shortfall. Jeff said staff recently recovered a $1.2 million receivable from the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) for work at the Ag Innovation Campus; finalizing that reimbursement will help reserves but will not close the entire gap. He also said the city could legally levy more under its preliminary levy but that doing so could approach the council’s cap and translate into a double‑digit percent increase in some scenarios.

Council and staff discussed temporary and longer‑term strategies, including: engaging Ehlers (a financial advisor) to develop a 10‑year financial plan, temporary bonding for capital projects, and reassigning a portion of enterprise funds (Jeff suggested about $200,000 from the water fund) to the general fund. Jeff said anticipated investment interest in 2025 of roughly $250,000 could be used to supplement operating or to partially replenish reserves.

Councilmember discussion also emphasized the risks of withdrawing from projects that carry grant commitments. Councilors and staff warned that pulling out of DEED‑backed projects could jeopardize future grant eligibility and that some projects are already contractually committed.

On process, council asked staff to return with multiple levy scenarios (top, middle and bottom), the homeowner impact for typical home values and budget drafts both with and without pool operations so members can compare outcomes at the next meeting.

The council did not take a final budget vote Tuesday; Jeff said staff will present the comparative budgets and homeowner impact analyses at the next meeting so the council can make an informed decision about the pool and other services.

Ending: The council authorized Ehlers to prepare a long‑term financial plan and directed staff to produce levy‑scenario impacts and budget drafts for the next meeting; a budget workshop was scheduled for Nov. 12, 2024.