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Hermantown approves final levy and 2026 budget after reductions; payroll and property taxes drive increase
Summary
Hermantown City Council approved the final property tax levy and the city's 2026 budget after staff reduced expenditures; the general-fund levy increase is reported as 7.48% while the city's effective tax rate was described as falling nearly 1%. Council also approved several franchise and administrative items.
Hermantown City Council on the evening adopted the city’s final property tax levy collectible in 2026 and approved the 2026 general fund and overall city budgets following staff reductions aimed at lowering the preliminarily proposed levy.
Finance director Kevin Orm told the council the payroll budget accounts for more than two-thirds of city spending and that nearly 90% of general-fund revenue is supported by property taxes. After trimming expenditures, he said, “the overall levy increase for the general fund is 7.48%. Initially, it was over 10%. The effective tax rate for the city, if approved, would actually go down almost 1%.”
Why it matters: the council approved both the levy (Resolution 2025-176) and the…
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