Burnsville adopts 2026 budget with 7.4% tax levy; council includes SAFER-funded firefighters and ratifies EDA levy

Burnsville — The Burnsville City Council adopted the city’s 2026 budget and property tax levy Tuesday evening, approving a package balanced to a 7.4% levy that Deputy City Manager and CFO Jenny Rohde said will increase the median‑value homeowner’s bill by about $9 per month.

“We’ve balanced the 2026 budget to the 7.4% tax levy,” Rohde told the council during the Truth‑in‑Taxation presentation. She said the proposed levy totals $58,411,623 across the organization and that a mix of revenue adjustments, expenditure reductions and personnel changes produced about $1.9 million in corrections used to balance the plan.

The council’s action also folded several staffing changes into the 2026 plan. Rohde announced the city received a SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant; the application sought 12 positions and the grant awarded nine full‑time firefighter positions. Rohde said the city included the remaining positions in the 2026 budget and expects roughly 75% federal reimbursement for those SAFER expenditures. She also said one community risk‑reduction position will be paid using opioid‑settlement funds, bringing the total to 10 additional firefighter/paramedic positions in the proposed staffing totals.

The budget document includes capital and organizational studies planned for 2026 — IT, sidewalks and trails, street lighting, city‑owned property reviews, and parks security — and projects capital investment of roughly $36 million across all funds. Rohde noted a net FTE increase from about 338.5 to 349.2 for 2026, reflecting the SAFER hires and other adjustments.

Council members pressed staff on long‑term projections and the sustainability of multi‑year levy increases. A council member compared Burnsville’s proposed change to statewide local government patterns and said prolonged 7%‑plus projections are “not sustainable,” emphasizing that personnel costs drive most municipal spending. Rohde pointed to prior planning and a five‑year, nonbinding financial management resolution that set expectations for multi‑year staffing and levy trajectories.

A resident, Cheyenne Osborne, told the council she faces job uncertainty and rising household costs and warned that higher taxes could force some residents to move. “Maybe I have to move because I can’t afford it anymore,” Osborne said during public comment. Council member Schultz said she would not support the levy package, praising staff work but saying the city must pursue prevention‑oriented strategies to reduce future demand on costly services.

After discussion, the council adopted the resolutions to set the 2026 property tax levy, approve the 2026 budget and adopt the 2026–2030 Capital Improvement Plan by voice vote.

The meeting recessed so the Burnsville Economic Development Authority (EDA) could meet. The EDA approved its proposed 2026 levy of $700,000; Rohde said total EDA expenditures are projected to decline from 2025 levels. Commissioners discussed a reallocation of $800,000 from the EDA levy to the city levy for 2026 and the city’s receipt of LAHA funds — a state‑authorized, sales‑tax‑funded housing assistance program that will provide the city about $800,000 annually starting in 2025 — which staff said will support housing investments and partially offset levy pressures. The EDA approved its levy, then adjourned; the city council reconvened and ratified the EDA action.

What the votes mean: council members approved the budget and levy package in a voice vote; several members expressed concern about maintaining services while curbing long‑term tax growth. Council member Schultz registered opposition during the meeting. No numeric roll‑call tallies were recorded in the transcript; the clerk announced the results after voice vote.

The council also approved an annual ordinance establishing the 2026 fees and charges schedule earlier in the meeting; staff said the fee schedule had been shared in September work sessions and is incorporated into the 2026 budget. The meeting adjourned after ratification of EDA actions.

Up next: staff noted continued capital and organizational studies to inform future budgets and said the city will revisit compensation and financial‑management planning in coming months.