MARSHALL — The city of Marshall will be considering a 9.8% levy increase for 2025. However, they’re not alone in looking at that kind of a preliminary levy increase, said Marshall Director of Administrative Services E.J. Moberg.

During a Truth in Taxation meeting Tuesday, Moberg compared Marshall’s proposed levy increase to those being considered in comparable Minnesota cities. The city of Willmar was proposing a 9.3% levy increase, and the city of Fairmont proposed a 9.1% increase. Some other cities had double-digit preliminary levy increases, from 12.2% in North Mankato to 18% in Worthington.

“Statewide, the average county increased 6.4%, townships were at 6.3%,” Moberg said. “Schools were at 4.4% –they’re a little different in that theirs are set kind of by the Department of Education, and then they pretty much just adopt the maximum levy.”

The Marshall City Council will act on setting a final city levy and budget at its Dec. 17 meeting.

During the Truth in Taxation meeting, Moberg presented the council with a breakdown of the proposed city budget and levy for 2025.

“The proposed levy was at $9,969,000” compared to about $8.98 million in 2024, Moberg said. That represented a 9.8% levy increase.

The rate at which Marshall’s city levy has increased from year to hear has gone up within the past five years, according to data Moberg presented at the meeting. In 2021, the levy went up 2.8% compared to 2020. In 2022, the increase was 4.3%, and in 2023, the levy went up 8.1% from the previous year.

Marshall’s proposed 2025 budget includes over $22 million in revenues for the general fund, special revenue funds, debt service funds and capital project funds.

“The biggest portion of that is property tax,” Moberg said of the city’s budgeted revenue. “At that $9.8 million number, it is 45% of our revenues that are budgeted for the year.”

Moberg also broke down how the city would spend its funds in the 2025 budget.

“On the expenditure side, we’re at over $23.6 million,” Moberg said.

Public safety costs made up the biggest portion of city expenditures, at 23%.

“As expected with a community our size, and just in general, public safety is our biggest area,” Moberg said.

“For us, approximately 15 cents of every dollar would go toward general government (costs),” Moberg said. “Twenty-three cents would go toward public safety, 20 cents for streets and highways, 16 cents for culture and recreation, 22 cents for debt service, and then everything else would go under the 4-cent category.”

Those other areas making up 4% of budget expenditures included costs for economic development and the Marshall airport.

Moberg said there were a few items that had an impact on the proposed 2025 expenditures.

“No surprise for government, our big cost is personnel,” he said. “In our budget, we did include a 3% cost of living allowance. The council has since approved one union agreement and approved non-union cost of living adjustments, with negotiations with two additional unions pending.”

Moberg said the proposed budget does include two new full-time employees in the Marshall Police Department. He said some of those costs were partially offset by the fact that some employees would be taking scheduled military leave in 2025.

The city was also facing a 10% increase in health insurance costs in 2025, Moberg said.

Moberg said the city was trying to spend “minimal” reserves in the 2025 budget. The proposed budget planned to use $25,000 from public safety aid money to lower the impact of the new full-time positions.

There was only one public comment at the meeting. Gary Vlaminck voiced concerns about the proposed tax increase on a rental property he owned.

“I think the taxation is extreme — $500 in one year, going up,” Vlaminck said. “It seems like that’s not really realistic.”