Minnetonka directors outline 2026 work and schedule budget kickoff for May 11

Mayor Rebecca Schack opened the April 20 study session, where City Manager Mike Funk led off a series of director presentations laying out 2026 goals and the schedule for preparing the 2027 budget. Funk said the city’s combined 2026 budget is about $124,000,000 and described an eight‑month timeline that includes a May 11 budget kickoff, a June capital improvement plan review, July economic improvement planning, August general‑fund discussion and a Sept. 14 preliminary tax levy approval target.

The presentations gave each department a ten‑minute overview of current programs, near‑term needs and risks. Public Works Director Will Manchester said crews expect to finish a residential water‑meter replacement this summer (about 9,000 meters) and flagged major design and construction work on Minnetonka Boulevard, Cedar Lake Trail and the Opus area, plus a third planned solar installation on the Ice Arena. Manchester listed service metrics—including roughly 66,000 resident notifications sent, around 4,000 volunteer hours and about 3,600 facility work orders—while warning that aging infrastructure and tighter PFAS regulation remain long‑term pressures.

City Attorney Eric Nelson described legal priorities that intersect the budget, including staffing for criminal prosecution, an upcoming paralegal FTE and creation of a criminal division manual to improve succession planning and case consistency. He also said extreme‑risk protection orders (IRPOs) are becoming a recurring workload; “already this year, we’ve had five that have gone to hearing,” he said.

Finance Director Darren Nelson outlined progress on priority‑based budgeting and a planned utilities‑billing system migration later in 2026, and said the city is evaluating ERP and HR/payroll solutions that would likely span into 2027–2028. He noted that credit‑card processing fees (4–5%) are becoming a larger line‑item across departments and that the assessing division is preparing to track accessory dwelling units in property data systems.

Other directors described administrative, community‑development and recreation priorities: Miranda Dominick (administration) highlighted new electronic performance management and a renewed WCAG 2.1 AA compliance deadline of April 26, 2027; Julie Wishant (community development) outlined a major permitting‑software migration to Excelis and planning work on the comp plan and affordable housing projects; and Recreation Director Kelly O’Day reported heavy facility use at the Marsh and Williston, planned capital work on gym flooring and rink refrigeration, and a goal to grow membership and facility rentals by about 5 percent.

Why it matters: the May 11 study session will be the first major public touchpoint for the budget cycle and will include community and business survey results intended to shape council priorities heading into levy decisions this fall. Mike Funk asked council members to share priorities with staff before that meeting so staff can incorporate them into the kickoff materials.

The city manager said staff will return with additional budget materials at the scheduled study sessions through December as work advances.