DEPARTMENT: Finance
FILE TYPE: Regular Action
TITLE
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Certification Of 2026 Property Tax Levy And Adoption Of Dakota County 2026 Budget And 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program
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PURPOSE/ACTION REQUESTED
Certify the 2026 property tax levy and adopt the Dakota County 2026 budget and 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program.
SUMMARY
The 2026 property tax levy, Dakota County budget, and 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program
(CIP) are to be adopted on December 16, 2025. This action concludes a process that spanned much
of 2025. The budget process began on July 23, 2025, with a budget workshop. Discussions centered on budget reductions and the proposed levy. There were subsequent budget workshops on August 19, 2025, and September 16, 2025. On September 23, 2025, the County Board set the maximum 2026 Recommended Levy at $184,246,066, which is a 9.90 percent increase over the 2025 adopted levy (Resolution No. 25-454; September 23, 2025). There was an additional budget workshop held on November 18, 2025, which focused on the operating budget and the CIP. The County Manger's current total 2026 recommended budget is $527,684,094. The CIP Public Hearing and the Levy and Budget Public Hearing meetings were held on December 2, 2025.
Major highlights of the 2026 budget include:
* $8.8 million of base operating cost reductions, including the elimination of 44.3 FTEs.
* Increased current level operating costs, driven by increases to personnel costs, insurance premium increases, and inflation.
* Addressing the costs of new state programs, including Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML), and compliance with the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act ("the Act").
* Cuts and cost shifts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) resulting from legislation passed by the federal government in July 2025.
The County Manager's 2026 Recommended Budget includes the following governmental and enterprise funds:
* General Fund
* Transpo...
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