Minneapolis, St. Paul facing budget shortfalls for 2027
St. Paul Mayor Her proposes 6.8% property tax levv
St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her is proposing a 6.8% property tax levy increase as part of her 2027 budget, which she says would amount to about $58 more annually for the owner of a median-value home.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota are both facing big budget shortfalls.
St. Paul facing $26M budget deficit
What we know:
St. Paul is currently operating in the red—a financial hole that will lead to some tough choices for the city’s new mayor.
St. Paul faces a $26 million budget deficit. Officials are considering both raising taxes and cutting services to close the gap.
In her budget proposal, Mayor Kaohly Her is proposing a 6.8% property tax increase, which would be an annual increase of $58 for a median value home. Mayor Her said the city had originally been looking at a more than 12% increase but was able to pull back that figure.
Minneapolis facing $30M budget shortfall
Twin Cities facing budget shortfalls
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota are both facing big budget shortfalls.
By the numbers:
It's a similar situation in Minneapolis, where the city is looking at a $30 million budget shortfall.
Mayor Jacob Frey released his proposed $2.3 billion budget on Wednesday, which calls for an 11% property tax hike—more than double what he originally planned to propose. For the average homeowner, that would mean another $409 per year, or around an extra $34 per month.
Frey is also considering consolidating departments, eliminating some programs and cutting about 100 government positions.
Frey says the cost of providing services and programs that residents expect is growing faster than the revenue to pay for them.
"The difficult decisions we’re making in this budget reflect where we’ve been, not where we are and certainly not where we are headed," Frey said in his budget address on Wednesday.
What's next:
The budget still needs approval from the Minneapolis City Council, which will hold public hearings in the coming months before holding a final vote in December.
Minneapolis park board unhappy with proposed budget
What they're saying:
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board says its portion of the mayor's property tax increase is less than expected and could lead to layoffs.
Frey is proposing a 2.5% budget increase for parks, but that's less than half of the 5.86% increase the park board requested.
The board says the mayor's plan would cost up to 26 employees their jobs, along with other significant changes.
The park board said it will continue discussions with the mayor and will release its own recommended budget next week.
The Source: Information in this story comes from St. Paul and Minneapolis budget documents and Mayor Jacob Frey's budget address on Aug. 12, 2026.