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NEW ULM - Brown County Commissioners hope to avoid a repeat of last year's levy increase after approving a 9.99% maximum tax levy for 2027.
The commissioners unanimously approved a proposed 2027 tax levy of $21,552,707, which is a 9.99% increase over the total 2026 levy. The number comes from a draft county budget of $50.2 million.
By setting the 2027 preliminary tax at 9.99%, the county is establishing the maximum levy increase for the next year. Before the end of the year, the county could reduce the levy or keep it at 9.99%, but it cannot be increased. All of the board members were committed to reducing the 2027 levy before the end of the year.
Commissioner Anton Berg said he would support setting the preliminary levy at a 9.99% increase, but did not want to repeat last year's levy. In 2026, the county set a final levy at 9.99%.
"Two tens in a row, I am not comfortable with that," Berg said. "I urge everyone to look over the budget again and think of places we can cut."
Berg said he was willing to use county reserves to reduce the levy, if reserves were above the recommended amount. He said if reserves are high, it is an indication the county is not using enough of it.
County Administrator Sam Hansen said reductions in state and federal funding were a factor in this year’s budget increase. He said County Program Aid (CPA) from the State of Minnesota decreased by nearly $57,000 this year. In addition, the county is taking on greater shares of the cost from State programs.
"Counties used to be charged 25% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and now we are mandated to be responsible for 50% of that," Hansen said. "That's double our costs for those benefits without any additional funding."
He added that HR1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, did nothing to help the counties cover SNAP funding or Long-term Care Assistance.
"The feds will point to the state as far as not covering that; the state will point to the feds," he said. "At the end of the day, we don't care if the funds come from federal or the state; we just want the funds to cover the services we provide."
Commissioner Brian Braun said he agreed the 9.99% preliminary levy increase was high, but said he appreciated staff working to reduce it to this level. He said during the start of budget talks, the levy increase was closer to 20.5%.
Braun moved to set the preliminary tax levy at $21,552,707 (9.99% increase) for 2027, with a second from Commissioner Jeff Veerkamp. The motion was unanimously approved.
The commissioners will conduct a Truth-in-Taxation meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, in the courtroom on the third floor of the Brown County Courthouse to receive public comments on the 2027 budget and property tax levy.