Committee directs staff to pursue phased 3%–5% pilot payment from public utilities

Brainerd City’s Personnel & Finance Committee on Sept. 15 directed staff to pursue a phased pilot payment from the public utilities that would scale to three percent in 2026 and rise to four and five percent in subsequent years, and to report back on the process needed to implement the change.

Staff presented packet estimates showing how a 3 percent pilot might translate to revenue for 2026 and noted differing approaches elsewhere — including national examples where pilot calculations are based on net payment or tax-levy percentages rather than gross revenue. Committee members discussed the likely rate impacts (staff estimated a 2–4 percent increase in rates depending on rate class) and asked staff to check legal and regulatory implications, including any action required by the public utilities commission or charter provisions. One member questioned whether tying pilot payments to gross revenue was the defensible approach compared with using net payment or tax-levy bases.

A motion to direct staff to pursue the three/four/five percent scaling and to return with the required legal steps carried. Staff indicated they would present more detailed numbers and process options at the next meeting; the transcript records estimates that the incremental increase in 2026 would be roughly $53,000 above amounts already budgeted, though packet figures and spoken totals in the record contain inconsistent numerics and should be confirmed by staff.