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Crookston staff warns of roughly $1.0–1.2M shortfall; council to weigh cuts and revenue options
Summary
City staff presented a preliminary budget showing modest tax-capacity growth but material wage and capital pressures — roughly $1.0–1.2 million — and asked departments to prioritize requests as the council considers cuts, reorganization, and revenue enhancements.
City staff told the Crookston City Council that rising labor and capital requests in the coming budget year create a funding gap staff estimates at about $1.0–1.2 million unless offsets are found.
Jeff, a city staff member presenting the budget, said county notices put the city’s tax capacity essentially even with last year (about a $20,400 increase). Using a conservative 5% wage-increase assumption for budgeting purposes, staff estimate roughly $300,000 in added wage-and-benefit costs against a 2025 operating baseline of about $10.3 million. Departmental capital requests submitted to date total just under $2 million, up from about $495,000 in the prior year.
Staff described a proposed industrial-park road and associated infrastructure project with an estimated total cost of roughly $6.6 million and a possible $3.3 million grant with a $3.3 million match; staff said an inflation adjustment increased the match estimate to $3.5 million for planning.
Council members discussed ways to reach the target savings, including asking department heads to identify prioritized cuts and considering reorganizing grant administration to keep administrative allowances in-house rather than paying consultants. One council member asked staff to model a shift from a fully paid fire department to a paid-on-call model; staff and council members noted potential impacts to the city’s ISO rating and homeowner insurance and requested a dollars-and-cents analysis before any decision.
Staff highlighted some revenue opportunities, such as intergovernmental agreements with neighboring Ada and offering additional services to outside athletics organizations. Staff also said the transition to Waste Management for trash collection may reduce a long-running deficit in the trash service and that an April receipt of an Ag Innovation Campus grant reimbursement ($1.1 million) has been earmarked to shore up reserves.
Staff said department heads will continue to prioritize requests and that the council should expect more detailed budget breakout reports and meetings as the city approaches the state’s preliminary levy deadline in September.
