Crookston council agrees to 8% preliminary levy to shore up 2026 budget

Crookston — Council members gave consensus on Sept. 29 to set an 8% preliminary levy for the city s staff worked through a preliminary 2026 budget that currently shows a $171,570 shortfall.

Darren, who presented the levy worksheet and revenue assumptions, said the packet included a revised CIP, nine years of levy history and that the 2025 levy total on the county roll was $4,486,171. "For us to balance the 2026 budget, we have a shortfall of $171,570," Darren said while walking the council through the worksheet and intergovernmental revenue, which includes Local Government Aid of about $4,571,314.

The 8% preliminary levy was chosen to give the city margin to both balance projected operating costs and begin modestly rebuilding reserves, council members said. Staff calculated that an 8% levy would raise roughly $358,000 in additional levy capacity under preliminary county figures, with about $186,400 remaining after covering the identified $171,570 shortfall in the draft budget.

Why it matters: Council members repeatedly flagged the city—or years of drawing on reserves and for a string of large levy increases in recent years, including a 27.45% jump between 2024 and 2025 recorded in packets provided to the council. Several members argued the community needs a multi-year plan to restore reserves to the city's cash policy target (slides noted a 45% unassigned reserve target) while balancing the immediate impacts on homeowners.

What the numbers mean locally: Staff used example impacts on typical homes to show scale. Under the staff illustrations, a $150,000 home would face about $35 in additional city property tax annually at an 8% levy change; a $250,000 home would see about $70 annually. At a lower 4% proposal staff said some households would not see a city-tax increase compared with 2025 levy levels, but that option left no margin for unanticipated costs.

Council direction and next steps: The 8% figure is the proposed levy that will appear on the city—ertified proposed property tax statements; the council can lower the levy later but cannot increase it beyond the proposed amount at this stage. Staff said final levy certification will occur later in the year following a truth-in-taxation hearing and the completion of the city audit, which will provide updated 2024 reserve figures and could alter available leeway.

The workshop also directed staff to continue identifying line-item reductions, to consider how much of any new levy increase should be ring-fenced for reserves, and to return with clearer reserve balances once audit work is complete. The council scheduled a special meeting the next evening to formally pass the proposed levy for publication.