NEW ULM – The New Ulm City Council aims to keep nonprofit budget allotments for 2026 at or near the 2025 levels.

During Tuesday’s city council work session, each nonprofit budget request was reviewed. Two years ago, New Ulm created an application for local nonprofits to seek funding from the city. This year, the city received funding requests from 18 nonprofits. The total amount requested was $182,250. The 2026 budget is not completed yet, but based on last year’s budget, this request would equal a 1.83% increase to the tax levy.

Council President Andrea Boettger said that for every $99,000 allocated to the budget, the overall tax levy will increase 1%. In 2025, the city council allocated $121,300 to nonprofits, raising the tax levy around 1.2%.

City Councilor Tom Schmitz began the conversation discussion saying he is a fiscal conservative and favored having a lower tax levy, but recommended phasing out existing appropriations over time rather than cutting funding all at once.

Mayor Kathleen Backer said some of the funding requests this year were the equivalent of opening Pandora’s Box. She believed some of the nonprofit requests fell to county social services rather than the city.

“We have to be careful not to extend the services of the city into services that the county provides and gets reimbursed for,” Backer said.

Councilor David Christian said he appreciated the work of the nonprofits, but had trouble agreeing to these requests until the final budget numbers were available. He was surprised to see some nonprofits double their ask from last year.

“In my mind, I don’t think that will happen,” Christian said.

Councilor Eric Warmka said agreed that the requests that doubled from last year were not likely to receive their full ask, but felt most of the request were reasonable.

Brown County Historical Society (BCHS) and Heart of New Ulm (HONU) had the highest requests of the nonprofits at $20,000. Last year, the city allocated $22,000 to BCHS and $20,000.

Backer previously served as the executive director of the BCHS and supported the appropriation. She said BCHS was the only nonprofit requesting funding that had a state statute allowing provisions for a city to allocate funds to it. This was part of Minnesota’s effort to preserve history.

“At one time, the city of New Ulm provided the housing and operating budget for BCHS,” Backer said. “It is only within the last couple of years that the funding requests have come back.”

Schmitz agreed that partnering with BCHS was appropriate because of BCHS’s work in New Ulm.

Warmka asked if other cities in Brown County contribute to BCHS.

Backer said Springfield and Sleepy Eye support their own local historical societies instead of the county historical society. Technically, New Ulm does not have its own historical society.

Council Larry Mack said it was important to support BCHS because they were holding many New Ulm historical artifacts, including items previously stored at New Ulm City Hall.

The council was also supportive of funding HONU. Schmitz said his mission and objection, but he was not certain of the budget request.

Boettger asked where HONU received most of its budget.

Jen Maurer with HONU said they received funding through grants. New Ulm Medical Center has been supported through grant funding. Brown County has also received funds for the chemical action team and the mental health action team. About 80 volunteers gave 1,053 hours, which is equivalent to $41,909.

“We’re constantly looking for funds in order to stay viable,” Maurer said.

The New Ulm Battery requested $20,000, which was the same as last year’s request. Boettger asked if the battery had a method of generating its own revenue.

Battery president Bruce Olson said they conducted no large fundraiser. The sale of t-shirts and challenge coins had not generated much revenue.

Backer viewed the battery as an extension of the city’s image and helped promote the community. She believed the request was appropriate.

Mack agreed the battery was an extension of the city.

The council members said the same about the New Ulm Municipal Band, requesting $15,000, and the Concord Singers, requesting $7,200.

“They are the goodwill ambassadors for the City of New Ulm,” Backer said of The Concord Singers.

Councilor Mack described The Concord Singers as a rolling billboard for the community.

The Concord Singers had requested $1,200 more than last year. Warmka said a slight increase was appropriate since they were bringing in new members and there is a cost for new uniforms.

The Wanda Gag House Association requested $2,000, which was a slight increase from $1,800 requested last year.

Warmka said it was a small increase considering the cost of maintaining an older house.

The Lind House Association made a request for $10,000, double the $5,000 allocation received last year. Part of this ask was related to necessary roof repairs at the house. The costs for the roof repairs were over $100,000.

“I know there is a massive need,” Warmka said. “Last year, they were fixing it with buckets under the leaks.”

Bavarian Blast requested $3,000. This request was made to offset the cost of the parade held every year.

Boettger recommended increasing the fees for entrants in the parade to help offset the cost.

Warmka argued that an increase in the fees would not necessarily cover the expenses. He believed the Bavarian Blast parade was the city’s main parade and the ask was appropriate.

Mayor Backer agreed, saying that from her time managing Heritagefest, the $3,000 was a reasonable ask for the parade expenses.

For the second year in a row, The Grand Center for Arts and Culture requested $15,000. The council allocated The Grand $5,000 in 2025.

The Grand executive director, John Kellen said this year The Grand was spending over $120,000 in tuck pointing, painting and deck repairs. In addition, the Minnesota State Arts Board funding was slashed this year and would likely impact The Grand.

Schmitz said he would recommend keeping The Grand’s allocation at $5,000 for now. He also recommended a $5,000 placeholder in the budget for Turner Hall and State Street Theater.

Mack said The Grand, Turner Hall and State Street Theater were all sought after destinations in the community.

The discussion for Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) and Fire Relief Association’s budget requests was quick, with the council agreeing to support the requests from both organizations.

SMIF requested $1,500 and Fire Relief Association requested $2,250.

“I will tell you there are many more dollars filtering into our community through SMIF than they are requesting,” Boettger said.

Warmka said the Fire Relief Association did a lot for the community and it was appropriate for a city to support them.

There were three nonprofit requests that the councils indicated they would not be funding in 2026. Ivy House, a 24/7 crisis nursery, requested $8,000. The council members believed it was a worthy organization, but were reluctant to start funding something that fell under social services.

“I don’t think we can go down that road,” Mack said. “I think that’s human services.”

Warmka agreed they didn’t want to open up funding to the social service program. He said Ivy House does wonderful work and is good for the town, but they can’t back these types of programs.

Mack said he does support Ivy House’s mission, but didn’t think the city should be funding it.

Brown County Ag Society’s $6,000 was also unlikely to receive funding. Councilor Christian said the city had been paying Brown County Ag rent for the land the Civic Center sits on for years, with $5,000 increase built into the contract. He did not believe an additional $6,000 ask was appropriate.

New Ulm Finance Director Nicole Jorgensen said the rent is currently $25,000 and will increase by $5,000 every five years.

City Manager Chris Dalton said the city is currently renegotiating this agreement. He recommended that the city allocate no money to the Brown County Ag Society this year.

The council was also against granting a $3,800 request from River Valley BMX. Councilor Schmitz believed the city should not start providing annual funding to sports or athletic groups.

No formal decision was made during the work session discussion. Jorgensen said she would bring the nonprofit budget items back for formal approval during the next New Ulm City Council meeting. She anticipated increases to the tax levy due to continued inflation.

“Our expenses seem to go up faster than our revenues and we don’t get large increases from the state or government funding,” she said.

Council President Boettger wished to thank all the nonprofits who applied, even those who would not be receiving funding this year.

“[You] are all doing great work and giving back to the community,” she said. “You are all doing so much for the community and we are all grateful.”