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Dayton council finalizes 2025 levy after truth-in-taxation hearing; staff outlines staffing, utility-rate changes
Summary
At a Dec. 10 meeting, Dayton City staff presented the final 2025 levy and budget in a truth-in-taxation hearing; council adopted the levy and related resolutions 4-1. Staff highlighted an 11.24% levy change, proposed utility-rate increases (water +3%, sewer +2%), new public-safety hires, and a plan to monitor savings from staffing changes.
Dayton City Council adopted the city's final levy for 2025 after a public hearing and a multi-hour budget discussion on Dec. 10.
Finance Director Zach (identified in the packet as speaker 5) told the council the city must certify the final levy to Hennepin County by Dec. 30. He said the council's earlier adjustments reduced the preliminary levy from 16.63% to a proposed final levy increase of 11.24% and walked members through how levies, tax capacity and tax rates interact. He explained every 1% change in tax rate is roughly $53 on the typical $525,000 home and noted that each 1% of levy change translates to about $79,000 in city revenue.
The presentation included staffing and service changes that contributed to the proposed budget. Staff proposed hiring two police officers midyear, two firefighters as part of a stepped staffing plan, one part-time public-works office employee, and one additional part-time parks maintenance employee. The packet also shows anticipated increases in capital and operating expenses tied to inflation and new positions. Staff proposed a 3% increase in water rates and a 2% increase in sewer rates to help cover rising treatment and depreciation costs.
Council members pressed staff for clearer spreadsheets and metrics tying hires to service changes. Councilmember David (speaker 4) and others asked for measurable short-term reporting on emergency-response outcomes if the staffing model is implemented, including response times for fire and EMS calls and changes to paid-on-call hours. Chief/Fire staff (speaker 15) said call volume is up (projected ~606 calls for the year) and that a staffed station should allow the city to absorb more calls without relying as heavily on volunteers.
After extended questions about individual line items (including activity-center staffing and capital-equipment purchases), the council moved and passed the two resolutions adopting the final EDA/HRA levy and the final city tax levy by a 4-1 vote. The dissenting member objected to specific budget choices during the floor debate but did not defeat the measures.
The council also accepted the city's 2025 long-term plan (capital and project priorities) by the same 4-1 margin. Staff said the plan is not written in stone and can be adjusted if priorities change.
The most recent substantive step: staff will provide the detailed financial spreadsheets and follow-up metrics requested by council in a January work session; certification of the final levy will proceed to Hennepin County per statutory deadlines.
"Every 1% of tax levy increase equates to about $79,000 for the city," Finance Director Zach said during the presentation, summarizing how incremental levy decisions translate into dollars for city services.
What happens next: Council asked staff to return with clearer, line-item spreadsheets, a plan for monitoring response-time and paid-on-call-hour impacts tied to the firefighter staffing model, and options to reallocate or delay capital purchases if needed. The levy certification deadline remains Dec. 30.
