By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
Listen to today’s news:
The Northfield City Council meets tonight for a Work Session meeting, and the meeting will be dedicated to a discussion about the city’s budget and tax levy.
Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Services (NAFRS) Budget Discussion
The meeting will start with a budget review of the Northfield Area Fire & Rescue Services, or NAFRS. The department’s overall budget for next year is projected to be $1,818,331. NAFRS consists of a joint powers agreement between the City of Northfield, the City of Dundas, and the several townships comprising the Rural Fire District. Northfield’s contribution to NAFRS is 73% of the total funding, or approximately. $1.3 million, a slight increase of about 1% since last year. The contribution of each partner to the Fire Department is based on the number of calls, the population of each city/township, and the estimated market value.
Since NAFRS is a joint powers agreement with the townships, the budget is approved ahead of the regular city budget.
You can see the full breakdown of expenses on our website in todays news.
Review of City Fees
Next, the Council will review the fees the city charges for different services. Items include construction permits, parking fines, pool passes, and hockey arena use. According to a memo from staff, the fee’s go to cover staff time and overhead expenses for the different services.
See the full report on our website in today’s news.
The proposal would be adopted in September and go into effect in January 2026.
Review of the Budget & Tax Levy Increase
The last item on the agenda is a discussion about next year’s budget and tax levy increase. With the City Council approving the construction of the ice arena earlier this spring, the city has already committed to an 8.4% increase in taxes for the next year. A vast majority of the other proposed increases are based on labor union contracts that the city has already signed.
Based on input from the Council in the last several work session meetings, three high-level proposals are being brought; more detailed proposals are set to come forward in August.
- Option A: 17.8% total
- 8.4% Ice/Debt (fixed)
- 9.4% Other
- Option B: 14.5% total
- 8.4% Ice/Debt (fixed)
- 6.1% Other
- Option C: 9.9% total
- 8.4% Ice/Debt (fixed)
- 1.5% Other
According to the staff report, both options B and C would require a reduction in spending to afford the debt of the ice arena and labor contracts.
Several of the Council members have expressed hesitance with Option A, in June, Councilor Chad Beumer proposed something similar to Option C:
“I want to see it get as low as we could possibly get it. I agree with the mayor. Sub 10% would be fantastic, whether that’s the 100% realistic or not is yet to be determined.” – Chad Beumer, Northfield City Councilor at the 6/10/2025 Work Session Meeting
Will have more detailed reporting about the discussion in Friday’s newscast, as well as a 10-minute or less segment about the budget, Friday at 6:30 am
At work session meetings, no votes are taken by the council; instead, there will be longer presentations and discussions scheduled. Furthermore, since the meeting is a work session, no public comments will be taken at the meeting. However, you can contact your councils via email or the Ecomment option.
To view the agenda, go to northfieldmn.gov and click the “Agenda & Minutes” button in the middle of the home page. From there, find tonight’s meeting date to watch the recording, as well as a copy of the agenda and other meeting documents.
Tonight’s meeting starts at 6 pm in the City Council Chambers of the Northfield City Hall.0
