2026 Budget Work Session 6-10-2025
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
2026 Budget Preliminary Planning
Tax Levy and Tax Capacity Explanation
General Fund Departmental Budget Reviews
Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Funding
Fire Department Staffing Models
Police Department Union Contract Impacts
Public Works Expansion Strategy
HR Manager Position Proposal
Recycling Service Contract Re-negotiation
Areas of Interest (5)
- Dayton prepares for 2026 budget season with a projected 18.97% tax levy increase.
- City finance director pushes for a shift to internal HR management by removing third-party service costs.
- Fire department staffing remains in flux as the city evaluates a shift back to a paid-on-call model.
- Police department salary increases are heavily influenced by backloaded union contract negotiations.
- Significant questions remain regarding the city's $1.6M capital facility fund balance with no active projects.
Notable Quotes (2)
If a tax levy in year one is $4 million and a tax capacity in year one is $10 million. That means there's no levy increase. If we go to year two, we have more $4 million of change, but we double our tax capacity. The tax rate in year two is 20%.
Budget mechanicsExplaining the relationship between tax levy and tax capacity.
If you take 534 and you subtract off $130,000, which is the new officer that the chief is asking for, you got $400,000 that's all baked in to salaries and benefits based on current contracts.
Police BudgetJustifying the police budget increase.
People (1)
City Staff Member/Finance DirectorCity Administrator/Finance DirectorManaging city finances and explaining levy/tax capacity calculations.
1 quote
Managing city finances and explaining levy/tax capacity calculations.
“It makes no sense for a city to continue to levy for something year-over-year and not have a plan to spend the dollars.”
Explaining the logic behind reducing capital facility allocations.
Places Mentioned
Dayton, MinnesotaMaple GroveRogersChamplainCorkran
Events & Meetings (1)
- June 2026 Work Session