St. Louis Park adopts 2026 budget, keeps HRA levy at $1.194 million after close 4–3 vote

St. Louis Park’s City Council on Dec. 15 adopted the city’s 2026 budget and authorized final property tax levies, including a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) levy of $1,194,133 — unchanged from 2025 — after a 4–3 vote.

Finance Director Amelia Kruger summarized the budget before the vote, saying the package fully funds the new Minnesota Paid Family and Medical Leave program, balances internal service funds, supports a free brush management site for residents and provides ongoing funding for the city’s Climate Investment Fund. Kruger said staff had reduced departmental budgets by more than $200,000 and decertified some TIF districts to lower the levy impact on residents.

“On November 17 the overall levy increase was lowered from 8.02% to 7.49%,” Kruger said during the presentation, and she noted using older data made earlier homeowner impact estimates conservative. Using that data, she said, the median homesteaded homeowner would have felt about an 8.6% increase; staff said…