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NEW ULM -- With a levy increase of 5.77%, total budget of $27,424.281, and tax rate of 69.08%, City Council was satisfied with the budget for the upcoming year during Tuesday's meeting.
In September, the budget was approved at $27,410,217. The maximum tax levy was set at $9,951,454. Last year's final budget was $23,678,036, with a maximum tax levy of $9,407,486. This is a levy increase of $543,968 or 5.78% from last year. At that time last year, the maximum levy increase was set at 12.49%.
This levy increase went down to 5.77%, as minimal changes were made to the new budget. Of the $27 million budget, the largest sections of this funding will go to public works, debt service, police, and administration. These departments will receive 19, 17, 16, and 15% of funding respectively.
Also going down is the city's tax rate. In September, the approved tax rate was 69.25%, but is now 69.08%. This is a 6.99% decrease from last year and represents a trend of sharp decline. From 2014-2022, the tax rate stayed between 79-83%, but 2023 saw the number decrease from 82-76%. Finance Director Nicole Jorgensen said with the city's tax capacity increasing to 16.51%, they wish to continue lowering the tax rate.
"It’ll be the first time since 2011 we’ve been below 70%," she said. "Hopefully we can work with the future levy increases within the capacity of the city and its growth to keep the tax rate lower."
No discussion was had on any of the items included in the budget. No messages sent in and no attendees spoke at the meeting. Several City Council members shared their satisfaction with the budget and how reasonable costs are given inflation.
"Thank you to Nicole [Jorgensen}, city staff, and all the folks who lead these departments and put the budget information together," Council Chair Andrea Boettger said. "The city’s doing a lot of things. We’re doing a lot of stuff right now and the fact we can keep the [budget] where it is [great]. Now we can brag about it when we go to trainings."
"We’re maintaining," Councilman Eric Warmka said. "We’re not making any erratic purchases. We're status quo. In these given times with all the inflation, I think we're doing pretty good."
Mayor Kathleen Backer capped the meeting by expressing her pride for the city and the services it provides given the budget and expenditures they have.
"I believe we provide excellent services for our community, second to none," she said. "[At the same time] we have a reasonable budget, and it’s something we pass on to the community with pride."
Councilman Les Schultz made the motion to approve the preliminary budget for 2024, which Councilman David Christian seconded. Further minor changes will be made to the budget, and final approval will be sought at the Dec. 19 City Council meeting.