Minneapolis BET adopts 2026 budget and tax levy amid short quorum window

The Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation adopted the city’s 2026 budget and tax levy at its Dec. 10 meeting after brief discussion and a voice vote. President Steve Brandt moved to take up the levy and said, “I would like to have more time to discuss this, but circumstances do not allow it.”

The vote followed a point-of-information clarification that the levy year under consideration is 2026. The board moved and seconded the motion and adopted the levy by voice vote; the chair announced the motion passed. The clerk recorded that four members were present at the meeting.

The adoption occurred near the start of the meeting after the chair departed from the published agenda to address what he described as “a must do” item. Commissioners did not request further committee-level delay on the floor; no roll-call breakdown of individual votes on the levy was recorded in the transcript beyond the board voice action and the chair’s announcement that the motion passed.

Because a quorum was expected to be available for only a limited time (the chair said about 20 minutes), the board proceeded with the levy adoption rather than extending debate. The board did not open the floor to public comment—the clerk said no members of the public were present to speak.

What happens next: The meeting record shows the levy and budget were adopted on Dec. 10. The transcript does not include details about any amendments, detailed line-item changes, or subsequent procedural steps such as certification to other bodies; those items were not specified in the meeting record.