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Minot staff warn reserves could be exhausted by 2028 without cuts or new revenue
Summary
Minot finance staff told the city council that even with the 3% levy cap and several corrective measures, projected reserves could fall below the statutory minimum by 2028; staff sketched spending cuts and revenue options and will return with a -3% cuts package by April 15.
City finance staff and councilmembers warned Monday that Minot could exhaust its general-fund reserves within a few years unless the city pairs spending reductions with new or redirected revenue.
Finance staff presented multiple scenarios for 2027–2029 showing that under a status-quo budget (the 2026 property tax level plus the 3% cap and 1% growth) the city would fall below the one-twelfth reserve requirement and, in some models, be more than $20 million in the red by 2028. Dave, the finance staff presenter, said the single measures examined—using the full cap, delaying police capital, or cutting street maintenance—only delay the problem and do not eliminate the structural deficit.
Why it matters: state limits on levy growth and the timing of valuation base years constrain how much additional property-tax revenue the city can raise in the short term. Staff noted a roughly $4.9 million debt-service adjustment tied to flood-control financing that creates a sharp near-term increase in expenditures.
Councilmembers pressed staff on where cuts would land. Proposed corrective measures presented included removing a $5 million police capital outlay from 2028, reducing street maintenance funding by $5 million in future years, doubling transfers from utility funds to the general fund, and keeping capital equipment spending flat. Staff cautioned some revenue sources are restricted by ordinance and cannot be used for general operations if street maintenance falls below qualifying levels.
Alderman (role label) urged caution about cutting core infrastructure, calling reductions to street maintenance “a bad decision” if taken immediately. The city manager said staff will run the same minus-3% drill used last year and make results available by April 15; the manager also reiterated that a formal proposed 2027 budget will be presented to council in July.
What comes next: staff will return with a -3% cuts package by April 15; the city manager will present a proposed 2027 budget in July. The council did not take any formal votes on policy changes during the session.
