Proposed Rochester Budget Would Up City Property Tax Levy 9.4%

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Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - The Rochester City Council meets in a study session on Monday to receive the city administrator's recommendation for next year's city budget.

Alison Zelms and her staff are requesting the City Council certify the city's preliminary property tax levy at $101.5 million. That would be an increase of just under 9.5% when compared to the current city levy. The city administrator is recommending a general fund budget of a little over $114.5 million, which would be about 4.2% larger than the 2023 city budget.

The recommendation for the city's overall budget calls for $562 million in spending. That number includes city operations, the city's Capitol Improvement Program, and the city's debt service. The spending plan for city operations, which includes Rochester Public Utilities, totals nearly $370 million. $175 million will be allocated to capital improvements and $17.6 million would be used for debt payments.

56% of the city's budget falls under the public safety category, which includes the police and fire departments. About 17% is for general government activities and about 16.5% is used for public works.

Under the budget recommendation, 68.5% of the property tax revenue collected by the city would go to the general fund, just over 10% would be directed to the Parks and Recreation Department, 8.4% would help fund the capital improvement program and 8.2% would go to the public library. Much smaller percentages would be used for debt service and operating the Rochester Airport.