Rosemount City Council — Transcript
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Preliminary 2027 Budget and Levy Establishment
Impact of New Construction on Property Taxes
Public Safety Investment (Police & Fire Departments)
Community Development and Staffing Changes
Parks and Recreation Budget & Sustainability Initiatives
Votes (1)
Establishing Preliminary 2027 Budget Levy and CIP
Dissent: None
Moved by Esler [approx] · Seconded by Tyson [approx]
Mr. Martin presented the preliminary 2027 budget and CIP, emphasizing it sets the ceiling for the levy. He detailed record new construction ($256 million) and its impact on saving pre-existing homeowners $84, though the median home's tax bill is still projected to increase by $133. Significant budget increases were noted in public safety (Police: 8.6%, Fire: 22%), driven by growth, staffing model changes, and a pending federal grant for firefighters. Other departments saw increases for comprehensive planning, a rental housing specialist, and corrections for past accounting in Parks and Recreation, which also includes a new sustainability specialist. Council members inquired about comparative tax rates with neighboring cities, employee salaries/benefits as a percentage of the budget, and the timeline for the federal grant decision.
Notable Quotes (8)
what we do here in September is set the ceiling of our levy, the highest that our levy can be. And then between September and December, we're able to move that levy down.
We have yet another record set for the value of our new construction. So, we have $256 million of new construction in this budget year.
this budget that you're seeing and are considering approving tonight, um, would have increased the median value homeowners tax bill by $217, um, had it not been for that new construction. So instead, the the increase that homeowners are being asked to handle is $133 increase.
The biggest thing to flag is continued investment in public safety. As our community grows, we continue to respond to public safety needs. So, the police and fire budgets alone are growing by $1.1 million next year.
what we need to do is is continue to modify our our fire response model to make sure that we're ready, um, to grow with the city. And that's why we're in for that federal grant asking for nine firefighters.
I know in previous years, we've really pressed city staff to keep us one of the lowest city tax rates in Dakota County. So um this being the end, you know, near the end of the month, what are you seeing at our neighboring communities? And where would this put us in line um with our neighboring communities here in Dakota County?
Our tax rate is so low, which it gets really wonky on how we calculate the impact on each homeowner. Our tax rate is so low, it's staying so low because of the growth that we have that we can grow 14% have it actually be an impact of about 8.9 like I showed, but we can still be less than the cities around us.
I mean in the government uh government employment sphere is a little bit different than private sector where um we do have an ascension of steps as you achieve years of service and so we have folks that as we have some like younger like our police force is maybe you know on the younger side and so they're still stepping so that person might get a 3% cola and then a step that could be a 4% step and so uh until they're maxed out on their salary scale you might see that happen.
Ordinances & Resolutions (12)
The proposed maximum tax levy for the city in 2027.
Capital Improvement Plan, discussed in conjunction with the budget.
Grant being pursued for fire department staffing (9 full-time firefighters).
State of Minnesota mandate impacting the city budget for benefits.
Long-range plan for the city, in its second year of budgeting for preparation.
Study informing the fire department's staffing model changes.
Program by the League of Minnesota Cities that the city participates in for sustainability.
Environmental initiative supported by the city.
Environmental initiative supported by the city.
Environmental initiative supported by the city (e.g., butterfly initiative).
New program for building significant facilities across Rosemount.
Separate ballot measure impacting homeowners' tax bills.