East Grand Forks City Council Heard Budget Presentations From Three Departments

Economic development director Maggie Brockling is asking for an increase of $11,195 in administration expenses. This will increase her budget total to $201,000. That increase includes wages, insurance and benefits.

Lot sales revenue is expected to increase to $30,000, while the residential tax abatement program for newly built homes is expected to increase to $56,000. The tax abatement program is paid through the general fund.

Interim Fire Chief Paul Hansen presented an overall expense increase of roughly $120,000 and an overall revenue increase of about $49,000. This includes a $64,000 increase in wages and salaries for non-administration employees. It also features a $2,000 increase for mobile communication software, as well as a $7,000 increase for personal protective equipment. Part of the equipment includes 10 breathing apparatus bottles.

Hansen says the fire department is budgeting to replace 10 bottles every year through 2029, which is so the department can comply with the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s standards. The bottle prices have been increasing and they are now at $1,500 per bottle. The bottles need to be replaced every 15 years.

The fire administration will probably see a budget reduction of roughly $22,000 in wages and benefits. This is because of former fire chief Jeff Boushee’s retirement.

The fire department is also planning to begin a 30 year replacement plan for a new fire engine in 2027. The city signed a memorandum of understanding with seven surrounding townships last year to help fund the replacement. The project is expected to cost $1.1 million total and the city will provide $660,000.

The fire department also plans on replacing a pickup truck for $60,000 and the planned Station No. 2 project is projected to cost $1.2 million.

The call volume data is at 635 calls this year for the first six months. Hansen says that is about average. The department also brought in $40,000 worth of local grants last year, which includes funding from American Crystal Sugar, the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education and Greater Northwest Emergency Medical Services.

Campbell Library Director Lacey Anderson presented data for the administration, circulation, program and building budget.

The admin budget has been recommended to decrease from $269,000 in 2026 to $233,000 for 2027. This is mostly due to a change in the director’s salary, with former director Charlotte Helgeson retiring. Anderson wants to request funding for training and professional development for eight part time employees.

The circulation budget is being proposed to go down from $345,000 in 2026 to $265,000 for 2027. This is due to moving a librarian’s salary and benefits over to the program budget so it better reflects their job duties. This would cause the program budget to increase to $147,000 in 2026 to $302,000 in 2027.

The program budget would also increase by $5,000 for general supplies. Most of those supply costs are covered by grants and community support.

The building budget would rise from $93,500 in 2026 to $114,500 in 2027. This is because of planned carpet and window cleaning for the building.

Anderson mentioned some possible staff changes. One change would be to convert the support aide position to a marketing position. This would be to help grant applications, as well as with communicating with the public. This position would pay $28.77 per hour.

The other possible change would be a wage increase for part time staff. Part time employees are currently paid between $12.83 and $15.81 per hour. Anderson suggested increasing the starting wage for part timers to $19.32 per hour.

There are also capital improvement projects planned which would include seating, gutter and window replacements. These projects would happen from 2027 to 2030.

Anderson says she has also been working with Public Works and the city’s engineering firm Widseth to create rain gardens around the property. This is in order to mitigate water issues that have been damaging the nearby sidewalk. The library may also open up the south side of the parking lot to make traffic move faster and safer. Anderson says opening up that part of the parking lot would mean they would be working with the Opticare-Forks Vision Clinic and Northern Pacific apartment complex to get a right of way. Neither project is included in the budget proposal since there are no estimated costs for them at this point.

Anderson also included information that recorded staff hours, patron numbers and program attendance. Last year, three full-time librarians worked more than 6,250 hours, while part timers worked 7,400 hours. Volunteers were at the library for 2,500 hours.

There were more than 7,800 active library patrons in 2025, as the library offered 368 programs that over 7,700 people attended. The 2026 summer reading program had a total of 145 participants.

Various departments will make presentations to the City Council for the rest of the month. A final overview of the budget is scheduled for August 25th.