By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The Story In 100 Words (Click for drop-down):
The Northfield City Council is set to vote on a 9.9% preliminary tax levy increase. For a home valued at $350,000, the tax increase would be $12 a month. 7.5% of the increase is the Ice Arena. Despite the increase, $1.395 million in cuts are needed, reducing road repairs and services. Mayor Erica Zweifel proposed an alternative plan to preserve Sunday library hours, raising the levy to 10.2%. Councilors are divided, with some favoring lower taxes and others warning of long-term consequences from budget cuts. The final vote is scheduled for September 23. Residents are encouraged to email councilors or comment at the meeting.
The Northfield City Council is nearing a critical deadline in the debate over next year’s budget and taxes, with approval of the Preliminary Budget and Tax Levy required by state law by the end of the month. The council is set to vote on a proposal on Tuesday. There are two major cost drivers to the budget this year: The Ice Arena and staff/labor contracts. If all else were held equal, the Ice Arena would make up 7.5% of the tax levy increase. The overall city budget is $21 million.
Council Settles on 9.9% Tax Levy Increase; Significant Budget Cuts Necessary:
While four proposals were presented to the council, consensus during the discussion focused on the proposal for a 9.9% tax levy increase. For a home valued at $350,000 in Northfield, the city tax increase would be $12 a month. However, with costs rising faster than the tax increase, $1.395 million is needed in budget cuts.
Listen to the News:
10 Minutes or Less Explaining the Story:
From the 9/16/2025 City Council Packet.
From the 9/16/2025 City Council Packet.
Among the budget cuts are items like:
- $188,000 – Delaying the Library Website Redesign, Delaying the Ames Park Planning, Delaying work on Emergency Preparedness Sirens, HR NeoGov Onboarding upgrade, Local Option Sales Tax Education
- $179,000 – Reduce maintenance funds for Parks Facilities, Vehicles, Equipment, the Economic Development Authority, and Housing Redevelopment Authority.
- $108,000 – Reduced Street, Trail & Sidewalk maintenance
- $42,000 – Reduction to external partners, which include a to-be-determined Healthy Community Initiative, the Northfield History Center, Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention, and 100% cut to Age Friendly.
- $27,000 – Fireworks, Board/Commission Training/Holiday Social, National League of Cities membership.
- $322,000 – Staffing Reductions (Approximately four positions). Not filing a Public Works Mechanic position, one position from Community Development, one position from Communications, and eliminating Sunday Library hours.
This includes two one-time transfers, first from the DMV Fund of $164,000 and $100,000 from the Liquor Store (which is in addition to its regular $50,000 contribution to the budget). As well as a rent increase at the Northfield Community Resource Center for Fifty North to bring it in line with the other tenants in the building. The council indicated support for a three-year phase-in of the rent increases for Fifty North.
From the 9/16/2025 City Council Packet.
Read more about the NCRC Rent: $5 million in Future Projects Planned for the Northfield Community Resource Center (NCRC); City Submits State Bonding Request
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
Councilor Peter Dahlen shared his support for the 9.9% levy as it was the lowest option proposed, and he sought to maintain affordability in Northfield:
“Food costs have gone up. Homeowners’ insurance has gone up tremendously. The property insurance you need for an affordable home. We care about affordable housing. So if we add more tax to that, we’re almost undermining every concern we have about homeowners being able to live here.” – Peter Dahlen, Northfield City Councilor at the 9/16/2025 City Council Meeting
Councilor Jessiaca Peterson White expressed concerns with the smaller levy increase and the larger budget cuts needed, citing past examples of when maintenance was deferred:
“The result of that is something that I have spent my 12 years on the council trying to make up for, of catching up on all of that maintenance, because the people of Northfield deserve to have streets that are safe to drive on that aren’t crumbling. They deserve to know when those things will be fixed. Just two years ago, we removed the last lead pipes from Northfield. And that is in part because of an artificial push to keep this levy number low without really considering what the long-term implications are of that cost-cutting.” – Jessica Peterson-White, Northfield City Councilor at the 9/16/2025 City Council Meeting
Ultimately, Councilors Chad Beumer, Brad Ness, and Peter Dahlen were in support of the 9.9% levy increase, while Councilors Jessica Peterson-White and Kathleen Holmes favored one of the higher levies. Councilor Davin Sokup was absent from the meeting.
Discussion Revolves Around whether the Library Should be Open on Sundays
During Tuesday night’s discussion, the largest amount of support was around the 9.9% levy option, with Mayor Erica Zweifel in favor of the plan, with one amendment. Here she is the next day on KYMN:
“It did seem like there was a window of potential consensus around having an option next week to vote on that is the 9.9 plus adding back the Sunday library hours.” – Erica Zweifel, Northfield Mayor on KYMN In the Morning
Many of the council members expressed interest in Zweifel’s plan and favored keeping the library open on Sundays. In total, the cost to have the library open on Sundays for a year was $30,000, and Zweifel estimated that the levy increase would be slightly higher than 9.9%, around 10.2%. Library Director Natalie Draper shared why Sunday was the day to be eliminated, but also its importance to the community:
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
“For the people who come to the library on Sundays, and that’s the only day that they can get to the library, it’s the most important day of the week that we’re open. I will say, though, that Sunday hours are typically kind of the gold standard for public libraries…. It would be a savings in our part-time hours. So we can make that reduction from our part-time bucket. And we just have some people who will work fewer hours, but we don’t have to reduce a full-time position to get to the cuts.” – Natalie Draper, Northfield Library Director at the 9/16/2025 City Council Meeting
She noted that even if Sunday hours were to be preserved, additional items would still need to be eliminated from the library’s budget under the current proposal
“The next would come from the collection budget, staff training, programming, equipment, and furnishings.” – Natalie Draper, Northfield Library Director at the 9/16/2025 City Council Meeting
Next Step: Tuesday, September 23rd – Approval of the Preliminary Tax Levy
The City Council’s next action is on Tuesday, where they will approve the preliminary budget and tax levy, which is required by state law to be approved by the end of the month. Once the preliminary levy is approved, it sets the maximum possible tax increase for the city, limiting future options, such as library hours.
Mayor Zweifel requested that, ahead of the next meeting, city staff bring forward the 9.9% tax increase and the 9.9% and Sunday Library hours option, as the two proposals to vote on Tuesday evening.
Make Your Voice Heard
Regardless of your views on the budget and taxes in Northfield, now is an opportunity to make your voice heard and share your opinions. Email your Councilor ahead of the meeting or attend and comment at the meeting. Since the budget is on the agenda, you will have to wait until the item comes up for discussion.
If you can not attend the meeting, here are a few ways to comment beforehand:
- Find the email contacts for the Mayor and Council here
- Leave an E-comment on the agenda by clicking here.
The City Council meets on Tuesday at 6pm, in the council chambers of the Northfield City Hall.
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