East Grand Forks’ 2027 Budget Might Include A 10 Percent Tax Levy Increase

On Tuesday, City Administrator Reid Huttunen presented a preliminary budget to City Council members. The council has been hearing budget presentations from several different individual departments within the city.

The city is also expecting to start 2027 with $7.3 million in general fund reserves. A 10% levy increase would bring county revenues $25,800 over expenses and this would create a balanced budget. Huttunen also included projected figures for an increase at 3, 5 and 8 percent, and all of these options would not increase revenue over expenses.

General fund expenses are projected to be $15 million, which would be a 3% increase over 2026 expenditures at $14.6 million. Non property tax revenues are supposed to be $6.6 million.

2027 operating expenses are about $13.9 million, which is a $550,000 increase from 2026. Capital Outlay expenses are projected to be $1.15 million, which is lower than the $1.2 million from 2026.

Council member Ben Pokrzywinski asked for a three year projection that would include a 4 percent increase. He’s requesting this in order to get an idea of what the budget could look like in a future situation like this.

Huttunen presented data on levy increases over a two decade plus period from 2002 to 2026, as the levy has both increased and decreased during this time. The levy has been at 5 percent for most of the last six years, except for 2025 when it was 3 percent, 2026 when it was 8 percent and 2023 when it was 10 percent. Huttunen says the 10 percent in 2023 was because of health insurance increases, the first year of a new contract and because of several other changes to expenses.

Personnel costs are expected to increase by 4.4 percent to $9.7 million. This will include step increases for certain employees, as well as a four percent cost of living adjustment. There is also expected to be a 15 percent increase to health insurance costs that will be added into the budget.

The building maintenance fund is projected to be used for several projects planned for next year, which includes new renovations to Fire Station No. 2. That is expected to cost $1.2 million. Huttunen also mentioned that the general fund currently doesn’t have enough to pay for that project with a single source.

The preliminary 2027 budget and levy needs to be approved by September 30th, and the budget and levy must have final approval by December 28th.