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Northfield council told to trim about $300,000 from proposed 2026 budget to comply with levy cap
Summary
CFO told the City of Northfield Council that, while surplus and ratings remain strong, expenses have outpaced allowable increases and the council must identify roughly $300,000 in cuts to produce a legally balanced 2026 budget.
At a Feb. 12 budget workshop, Chief Financial Officer Stollenwerk told the City of Northfield Council that expenses — notably health insurance, pensions and EMS funding — have outpaced the permitted levy-cap increase and require immediate adjustments. "For a legal budget we need to cut $8,000.00 out of our appropriations," she said, and Council President Bucci later stated the council needed to identify roughly $300,000.00 in reductions to get to a zero increase under the cap.
Stollenwerk highlighted the city’s financial strengths — a surplus of about 15% of operating expenses and an expected AAA- rating — while warning that next year the city must permanently fund notes for past projects to preserve low borrowing rates. She said a municipal ordinance was introduced to raise the capped appropriations increase to 3.5%, and pledged to return to the council with a consolidated list of proposed cuts and tightened salary items at the next meeting.
