Forest Lake’s preliminary levy has been set at $16,677,970, an increase of 11.54% after the council had requested the levy percentage get trimmed back from a 13.2% increase. The state requires cities to pass a preliminary levy, which cannot be exceeded, before the city’s passing of a final levy in December.
The city had hoped to make more headway on funding its park maintenance and improvements, but after council members heard from residents that the 13.2% increase was too much, $250,000 was taken out of the $600,000 planned for the 2025 parks budget, bringing the park total to $350,000 for the year. The city has sought to dedicate more dollars for parks as the city hadn’t done so through the levy prior to 2021, when then parks commissioners grew frustrated at their lack of ability to accomplish anything due to low funding. Prior to 2021, the city had historically only been funded through parks dedication funds from developments.
The levy increase will also fund several key positions, according to city staff leadership: two part-time community service officers, one fire training captain, and a planning/EDA supervisor, which, in total, is estimated to cost the city $350,064. These roles, interim city administrator Kristina Handt said, will be essential to keeping up the goals and functions of the city.
“I think if you were to say that you don’t think you need [one of these positions], we’re going to probably have to have some conversations about which programs we’re not able to continue doing,” Handt said during the council’s Sept. 9 meeting.
According to current projections, the levy will raise the city’s portion of tax payments for homeowners with a median home value of $388,600 to a total of $1,570.09, a $160.63 annual increase.
Other home values and city’s taxes are as follows:
• $250,000 home value, $940.81 total, $84.30 annual increase
• $300,000 home value, $1,167.78 total, $111.53 increase
• $350,000 home value, $1,394.76 total, $139.14 increase
• $400,000 home value, $1,621.73 total, $166.75 increase
City council members were at a consensus at the 11.54% preliminary levy, though mayor Mara Bain was interested in bringing the number back up again, while council member Blake Roberts hoped to see it come down further in future discussions.
Bain proposed bringing the levy increase back up to 13.2%, which had been proposed for the Sept. 9 meeting, so the city could “get those park projects done in 2026 as we want.”
She reiterated her view that the heavier increases the last couple years were to play catchup, and would allow the council to ease off the heavy increases in 2026. But she conceded that “we might just be at a moment where we need that relief this year, and I can appreciate that. …But that does mean that some things come off the table in 2026. Again this is all about time and pace, and what are we doing when. And this council has had a lot of, I think, gumption to take on head on and cover a lot of those deficits and a lot of that backlog maintenance that hasn’t been done. We’ve funded that over several years now. To come off of that certainly is an option, but it also means we’re not playing that catch-up.”
Roberts reiterated that the city has funded parks far more than “we ever have, so I think we need to be proud of that and acknowledge that, and realize that’s why we’re at where we’re at.”
He said that while he supported passing the preliminary levy, he aimed to “see where we can shave” off more money. He compared Forest Lake’s preliminary levy’s double-digit number to other cities’ 5-7%, though Bain pointed out that those other communities “were high- or mid-double digits a year before we took a jump, so we are a year behind where many communities were in those increases.”
Council member Sam Husnik said he had heard from residents that the 13.2% levy increase was too high, and took time to remind residents at the council meeting that the state does provide some tax relief for residents who may be struggling by filing for a refund.
“There are folks that are hurting, certainly there’s no question about that,” he said, while noting he was “hoping” for further trimming of the budget, as well.
Council member Hanna Valento, who has been a bulwark defender of parks funding, said she said “ideally that $600,000 [for parks] would be ok to keep going with, because we need it [and] I think the community wants it.” Valento was absent at the Sept. 9 meeting when the council suggested the $250,000 decrease to the park’s planned $600,000. She noted she was ok with a lesser amount as long as “we keep our eyes on the prize.”
The preliminary passed 4-0, with council Leif Erickson absent.
The council will host a budget open house in November for residents to ask questions of the staff and council. The council will continue their discussions of the budget until the final budget and levy is passed on what has traditionally been the first Monday of December.
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