Staff photo by Fritz Busch Brown County Administrator Sam Hansen explains the 2026 proposed budget and tax levy at a Truth In Taxation hearing in the county courtroom Tuesday. Seated behind Hansen from left are Commissioners Jeff Veerkamp, Brian Braun, Dave Borchert, Scott Windschitl and Tony Berg. Commissioners approved a 9.99% preliminary tax levy increase in September. They plan to set the final tax levy Dec. 16.

NEW ULM — Brown County Commissioners continue to work on the 2026 tax levy.

Commissioners set the 2026 preliminary tax levy increase at 9.99%, a total budget increase of 4.1%, from $45.8 million to $47.7 million in September.

The final budget levy is planned to be adopted at the Tuesday, Dec. 16 county board meeting.

The final levy increase can not be more than a 9.99% increase over the 2025 levy, but it may be less.

Brown County Commissioners received no public feedback at a Truth In Taxation hearing in the third-floor courtroom Tuesday.

Property market values on Truth-In-Taxation notices are final and not subject to the Dec. 2 hearing. Values for 2025 assessments (taxes payable 2026) were discussed and established by local boards of review and the county board of equalization earlier this year.

“I want to thank all department heads who played a part in the budget process. We began the process in May and set the preliminary levy in September. The final tax levy is planned to be adopted in two weeks,” said Hansen.

A significant portion of the county budget is used to provide programs and services mandated by state or federal governments.

Brown County had one of the lowest 2025 per capita tax levy rates, ($694), ranking 66th among 87 Minnesota counties, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Impacts to the 2026 Brown County budget include a 7.76% reduction in Minnesota County Program Aid, about $80,000 for the Minnesota Paid Leave program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and behavioral health cost shifts, up to $100,000 in Operating Health Program costs, staff wages, insurance and daily business cost increases.

Brown County capital projects include reconstructing County Road 17 in Comfrey, a 110th Street township bridge in Albin Township and a 140th Avenue bridge in Linden Township.

Brown County service examples in 2025 included 83 construction permits creating more than $10.5 million in new value and more than $21 million in benefits to veterans flowing through the Veteran’s Service Office in 2024.

Other services examples include 245 juveniles either on probation or receiving truancy services, 392 child protection reports, 114 accepted for investigation; 173 adult protection reports, 63 accepted for investigation.