Eden Prairie council adopts $66.85 million 2026 budget, certifies $52.84 million tax levy after public hearing

The Eden Prairie City Council voted Dec. 2 to adopt a $66,847,061 city budget for 2026 and to certify a $52,844,814 property tax levy, after a public presentation by city finance staff and a public hearing in which residents urged the council to seek alternatives to higher bills.

Finance Manager Tammy Wilson and city staff walked the council and audience through the proposed budget and levy. Wilson said the city’s general fund budget proposal totaled $63,900,000 and that, in staff’s presentation, taxes make up about 77% of general-fund revenue. She highlighted that public safety is the largest share of city spending and that the overall city budget (including enterprise funds) is roughly $110,000,000. At the meeting Wilson noted the city had secured a $2,000,000 SAFER grant to accelerate hiring eight firefighters, with the federal share covering 75% of wages and benefits for the first two years and 35% in the third year.

The council’s adopted levy and budget follow staff presentations and a public hearing at which several residents described financial hardship from rising property-tax bills. Resident David Ringsmuth said the increases “still hurts,” and Maria Rinksmooth urged the council to explore novel relief, asking the city to "make the increase optional per family, per taxpayer." Another resident, Julie Baker, described living paycheck to paycheck and asked the council to "please don't raise our taxes." Council members and staff replied that many drivers of tax bills — including state-set property-class rates and metro fiscal-disparities rules — are outside city control, and that substantial cuts to offset the levy would require eliminating millions from the budget and reducing services or staff.

Council members emphasized maintaining emergency response and other core services. Council member Toomey noted the firefighter hires were recommended in a study focused on response times; Mayor Case and staff said the recent police remodel was largely bond-funded and that the city’s AAA bond rating helps keep interest costs low. Rick Getchell (staff) and Tammy Wilson told the council that reducing the levy to near 0% would require cuts equivalent to approximately $2.5 million in the short term and more structural changes in the long term.

After the public hearing, Council member Toomey moved to "adopt a resolution certifying the 2026 property tax levy to be $52,844,814 and approve the 2026 budget of $66,847,061 as reviewed by the council and approve the HRA tax levy and budget of $230,000." The motion was seconded and carried; the council approved the HRA levy of $230,000 earlier in the evening as part of the embedded HRA meeting.

The council also held routine votes that evening: it approved minor ordinance updates to the fee schedule (first and second readings as required for ordinance-based fees), adopted the annual fee resolution for program and administrative fees, approved the consent calendar and minutes from Nov. 18, 2025, and approved payment of claims by roll-call vote.

What the action means for homeowners: staff used a median-valued home of $558,800 to illustrate impact. In staff’s slide example, the city portion of the tax for that median-valued home would be $1,865 — an increase of $142 from the prior year — which staff presented as roughly $155.42 per month when divided into monthly terms. Staff cautioned individual tax statements vary widely depending on property changes and other taxing jurisdictions (school, county, state). Staff also highlighted state programs residents can check (Department of Revenue credits, senior deferral options, and income-based credits) if they face hardship.

The council closed the public hearing after resident remarks, adopted the budget and levy, and approved related fee updates. With the 2026 budget adopted, staff noted there would be no further council meeting in December; the council’s next regular meeting will be in 2026.

Sources and attributions: direct quotes and figures come from the Dec. 2, 2025 Eden Prairie City Council meeting presentation and public hearing (Tammy Wilson, Rick Getchell, Mayor Case) and from public comments by residents David Ringsmuth, Maria Rinksmooth, Larry Ziske and Julie Baker.