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A short West St. Paul City Council meeting gave an updated look at the 2027 budget and potential property tax increase as well as a clean 2025 audit.
2027 Budget
During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council continued their conversation about the 2027 budget, looking at updated numbers for the operating budget and a first look at the capital budget.
- Timing: This discussion started in June and will continue through the rest of the year. In September, Council will need to approve a maximum property tax levy that will be mailed to residents. The final number will need to be approved by December (it can be lowered, but not raised).
- Levy: As city staff updated and finalized numbers, they were able to reduce the property tax levy from 14.6% to 9.96%. They’ll continue to work to bring this number down. City Manager Nate Burkett said the next 1-2% reduction would be relatively easy, but after that the Council would have to start making decisions about tradeoffs.
- Capital projects: Some of the big capital projects include $1.5 million for the pool rehab, $1.1 million for the annual street projects, a combined $730,000 for vehicles and equipment, $400,000 for work at the ice arena, $350,000 for the public works facility, and $300,000 for the dome. Mayor Dave Napier complimented city staff for being creative with reallocating vehicles instead of buying new.
- Others: “We’re not the only ones hitting residents’ taxes,” said Napier, noting that Dakota County is likely to have a large increase due to unfunded mandates from the federal and state governments. He encouraged residents to be active with county commissioners about potential increases.
2025 Audit
Council received a presentation on the 2025 audit, which delivered a clean opinion of the city’s finances. The audit did identify one area where the city can improve its practices related to transitions, but it was a minor and easily corrected issue.
150 Thompson
The Economic Development Authority unanimously approved a minor change to the tax increment financing (TIF) district for the 150 Thompson project. They removed a parcel from 2003 TIF district that was intended for townhouses on Crawford Drive that were never built and added the parcel to the new TIF district for the 150 Thompson project where those townhouses will be built.
Engage
- Watch: City Council, OCWS, and EDA meetings are archived online.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
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