Laserfiche WebLink
CITY OF GEM LAKE <br />Heritage Hall <br />4200 Otter Lake Road | Gem Lake, MN 55110 <br />651-747-2790/92 | 651-747-2795 (fax) <br />E-mail city@gemlakemn.org <br /> <br /> <br />September 16, 2025 <br /> <br />RE: 2026 Preliminary Property Tax Levy. <br /> <br />State Statutes require Cities to certify their preliminary property tax levies by September 30th this <br />year. Once the preliminary property tax levy is approved and certified to the County Auditor, the <br />City can lower the levy during the remaining budget process but cannot exceed the certified <br />preliminary levy. For this reason, most Cities certify a preliminary levy using worst-case budget <br />scenarios, which is the case with the City’s 2026 preliminary property levy and budget. <br /> <br />The 2026 preliminary property tax levy is proposed at $768,005, which is a 4.667% increase <br />from the 2025 certified preliminary property tax levy. The 2026 preliminary property tax levy <br />consists of a debt levy of $85,778 (an increase from 2025 preliminary debt levy of $2,042) and <br />the general operating levy of $682,227 (an increase of 4.955% from the 2025 preliminary tax <br />levy). <br /> <br />The following changes were made from the 2025 adopted budget as a basis for the 2026 <br />proposed preliminary property tax levy: <br /> <br />1. Based on the 2015 Refunding Bond schedule the debt levy for 2026 is set for $77,763. In <br />addition, in 2018, the City issued bonds for the improvements on Scheuneman Road and <br />the 2026 debt levy for this issue is $8,015. These two debt levies make up the City’s <br />2026 debt levy of $85,778. <br />2. City Council contingency was increased to $15,000 (was $9,000). <br />3. Clerk/General Government budget includes $55,000.00 for wages and $9,900 for health <br />insurance coverage. <br />4. Planning & Zoning budget increased $15,000.00 based on past expenditures. <br />5. Police budget increased 4.16% to $153,537 based on the City of White Bear Lake budget <br />provided to us and includes $139,470 for police services and $14,067 for debt payments <br />on the new public facilities building. <br />6. The cost of fire services increased 1.22% to $53,474.00. It includes $35,196 for fire <br />services, $9,087 for fire marshal services, and $9,191 for depreciation on the new public <br />facilities building. <br />a. Overall, the City of White Bear Lake would like you to pay $23,258 for the next <br />20 years for their new facility. <br />7. Road Maintenance budget includes $20,000 for road maintenance/repair and $8,000 for <br />trimming boulevard trees. <br />8. Salt/sand increased $1,500 to $25,000 and snow plowing and sanding based on past <br />expenditures. <br />9. Heritage Hall budget includes $20,000 for building improvements and $10,000 for other <br />equipment/improvements. <br />10. Included a park maintenance budget of $10,000 for maintaining the park area of the <br />Villas of Gem Lake. <br />11. The 2025 budget includes $20,000.00 for future improvements.