Stanhope council adopts proposed FY26 property tax levy, sets April 21 budget hearing

Mayor Kelly Wirtz called the Stanhope City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. on April 8, 2025, and the council moved quickly on budget actions: Councilmember Kempton Young moved to adopt the proposed FY26 property tax levy and Mindy Hetland seconded; the council recorded the motion as carried with all in favor. Councilmember Jill Haman moved to set a public hearing for the Proposed FY26 Budget on April 21, 2025; Kempton Young seconded and the motion carried. Separately, Mindy Hetland moved to set April 21, 2025 as the date to adopt the FY26 Budget following that public hearing; Haman seconded and the motion carried.

The actions followed approval of the consent agenda, which included the April 8 agenda, March 11 council minutes, payment of claims and financial reports for March. Councilmember Kempton Young made the motion to approve the consent agenda and Councilmember Jill Haman seconded; the roll call was recorded as 3-0 and the motion carried.

Why it matters: setting the levy and the budget hearing schedules the next formal opportunity for public comment and final adoption of the city’s FY26 spending plan. The council’s votes advance the city’s budget calendar and keep the review process on track for the April 21 hearing and adoption.

What the transcript shows and what it does not: the transcript records motions and that "all were in favor" for the levy adoption and that the budget hearing and adoption dates were approved, but it does not provide numerical roll-call totals for those specific votes in the transcript text. The consent-agenda roll call is recorded as 3-0 in the meeting record; the transcript does not specify whether the mayor votes on agenda motions.

Next steps: the council will hold the public hearing on the FY26 budget on April 21, 2025 and is scheduled to consider final adoption that same night, per the motions approved on April 8.