Moorhead City Council

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

The Moorhead City Council okayed a preliminary budget for 2025 that will raise residential property taxes by 4.99%, or about $8.74 per month on a $235,000 home. The unanimous vote caps the amount of tax to be levied at $24.2 million, up $3.1 million from 2024.
The budget’s final approval will come in December, with citizen comments received over the next two months. Those numbers, by law, cannot be higher than what the council unanimously approved at its meeting Monday. But the total – now set at $43 million – could be lowered by cost-cutting between now and then.
City finance director Jenica Flanagan presented the figures, which city staff have been developing since last May. Much of the increase comes from higher costs of wages and benefits. Only three new employees will be added – two in the police department and one in Public Works.
The largest share of the budget, 48%, is dedicated to public safety, including $13.7 million for the police department and $6.9 million for fire. City administration is 14%, or $6 million. Public works, which includes everything from street construction and repair to snow removal, forestry, and garbage collection, accounts for $5.5 million, or 13%. Other categories include engineering, $3.7 million (8%); parks and recreation, $2.9 million (7%); community development, $2.5 million (6%); and governmental affairs, legal and prosecution, $1.7 million (4%). It includes $1 million for the library and $305,000 for the home-buyer incentive program called Make Moorhead Home.
The council also approved a separate tax levy for the Economic Development Authority totaling $746,000.
Flanagan said 43% of funding for the proposed 2025 budget will come from taxation. Moorhead Public Service, the city’s publicly owned utilities, will contribute 22% next year, amounting to $9.6 million. Local Government Aid, appropriated by the state of Minnesota, is expected to provide 19% of the total, or $8.3 million. The final $6.7 million (16% of the total) comes from fees and charges, franchise fees and other sources. M
According to Flanagan, rising market value of Moorhead properties helps offset increases that will be felt by residential property owners. The total estimated value of residential, commercial/industrial, apartments and agricultural property in 2025 is projected to reach $4.1 billion – a 5.25% increase over 2024.
The finance director said the proposed tax increase of about 5% would amount to $8.74 per month, or about $105 per year, on a house at the median value of $235,600. Owners of commercial and industrial property, however, would not feel the increase. Minnesota’s Disparity Reduction Credit caps their property tax obligation at 1.6% of taxable market value; the state makes up the difference. Their tax bills will rise only with an increase or decrease in market value.
Mayor Shelly Carlson welcomed the increase in wages and benefits for city staff, especially first responders. “In a culture of workforce shortages, our greatest asset is our employees. I’m glad this budget emphasizes the fact that our staff are vital to make sure that our community runs really smoothly.”