Finance Director Ellie Larkin told residents at Forest Lake City’s Truth‑in‑Taxation public hearing that the city is working from two levy scenarios: a 12.59% preliminary levy adopted in September and a staff-and-council proposal that would lower the final levy to 7.9%. Larkin said the lower figure reflects changes including removal of an originally proposed additional patrol sergeant, adjusted start dates for new positions to reduce first‑year costs, an increase in franchise fees and use of a 2025 surplus and capital fund options to offset expenses.

"As we looked at it as our proposed levy at 7.9%, the average home value increase for the portion of property taxes you would pay would be a $102.84 or a monthly increase of $8.57," Larkin said, explaining how the levy scenarios translate to household impacts.

The presentation listed items included in earlier, higher estimates: a deputy fire chief, a patrol sergeant (later removed from the current proposal), two patrol officers, a police administrative assistant and a public‑works position. Larkin said roughly one‑third of the levy supports public safety — police, fire and building inspections — and described tradeoffs staff and council have used to bring the number down.

During the public comment portion, residents pressed city officials on several points. Nadine Seatero asked who determines home values and whether valuation changes would affect taxes payable in 2027; staff told her valuation and tax‑change timelines follow the April process and that changes would be reflected in 2027 payable taxes. Another resident questioned the size and purpose of park‑dedication dollars, referencing prior figures and asking where proposed funds would go; a council member replied the line item is primarily for maintaining existing parks and that parks have been underfunded for years, creating a backlog of equipment replacements.

Councilors thanked staff for multiple budget workshops and public outreach. One council member noted that Minnesota’s average tax increase is over 8.9% and described moving the city’s levy down to 7.9% as a substantial accomplishment amid state‑level trends. Staff also reported an outstanding assessed balance related to prior utility/assessment items that had been reduced from a number staff previously estimated near $500,000 to roughly $300,000 through billing and collection efforts.

The presiding official closed the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. and the council discussed a resolution for the 2026 tax levy; no final vote on the levy resolution is recorded in the transcript provided.

The next procedural steps recorded in the meeting were council discussion of the resolution and follow‑up questions about collections and infrastructure needs; the transcript does not show a final vote or the resolution’s immediate outcome.