Brooklyn Park set a relatively low property tax levy increase compared to other Minnesota cities during last year\u2019s budget cycle. While this year\u2019s hike could be more substantial, the Brooklyn Park City Council has ensured it will remain in the single digits.<\/p>\n
At a Sept. 28 meeting, the council voted to approve a 7.04% maximum tax levy increase for property owners in the city. Over the next few months, the council will hear from department heads to determine what else, if anything, the city is willing to cut from next year’s budget. The exact percentage for 2027 will be approved when the budget is finalized in mid-December.<\/p>\n
Finance Director LaTonia Green initially proposed a maximum 8.04% increase during the Sept. 28 budget discussion. At the council\u2019s request, that number was reduced by a full percentage point, which Green said would require a significant reduction in the proposed budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have enough direction in order to reduce $730,000 from the budget,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat we don’t have is where we’re going to reduce it, but we know that that’s what we have to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Green, multiple construction projects have been factored into the proposed 2027 budget, including the buildout of the Brooklyn Park Police Department north precinct. Once completed, the expanded building will feature an in-house animal control facility \u2014 a service that is currently being outsourced to Maple Grove.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Park leaders voted last year to withdraw from a joint powers agreement that enables the use of the Pets Under Police Security impound in Maple Grove, as it also requires member cities to help pay for renovations and yearly operating costs. By renovating the north precinct instead, Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said the city could bring animal control services in house and protect its investment.<\/p>\n
Green noted the 2027 budget must account for costs related to the new central fire station, which is currently under construction.<\/p>\n
Other costs are largely personnel related. As proposed, the budget would give city employees cost-of-living adjustments and health insurance benefit increases. Green also noted Brooklyn Park must either hire in-house city prosecutors or enter a new contract for prosecution services, as the prosecutors currently under contract with the city are set to retire.<\/p>\n
In total, Green proposed a total 2027 budget of $90.5 million and an 8.04% maximum property tax levy increase. After some discussion, the council unanimously voted to approve the proposed budget and set the maximum property tax levy increase at 7.04%.<\/p>\n
Green noted that Brooklyn Park will receive $948,416 worth of local government aid from the state in 2027, compared to $935,178 in 2026. Despite this slight increase, Brooklyn Park\u2019s local government aid is far lower than some peer cities, and also below historical levels. It\u2019s an issue Mayor Hollies Winston and other elected officials have referenced during previous budget discussions.<\/p>\n
Multiple factors contribute to Minnesota\u2019s LGA distribution, though it is largely based on a city\u2019s expenditure need compared to its ability to pay. Other variables include a city\u2019s population, commercial tax base and the age of its housing stock.<\/p>\n
At the Sept. 28 meeting, Winston said the city must \u201cmake some very difficult decisions\u201d during this year\u2019s budget cycle.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Park property owners saw a tax levy increase of 4.54% following last year\u2019s budget process \u2014 far lower than the 12.5% initially proposed by city staff.<\/p>\n
Brooklyn Park is still months away from setting its final budget and the associated property tax levy increase. Departments will present their budgets to council in early November, and the city is scheduled to adopt its final budget Dec. 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brooklyn Park set a relatively low property tax levy increase compared to other Minnesota cities during last year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363221,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134877,98,100,99,111202,134873,32648,52066,5654,134874,113007,134875,102924,118176,5800,9,24,63,7754,134878,134876],"class_list":["post-363220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-animal-control-services","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-park-city-council","tag-brooklyn-park-council","tag-brooklyn-park-police","tag-chief","tag-green","tag-health-insurance-benefit-increases","tag-hollies-winston","tag-latonia-green","tag-levy","tag-mark-bruley","tag-minnesota","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-property-taxes","tag-prosecution-services","tag-something-mayor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}