Board of Estimate Sets Park Board's 2026 Levy Increase at 6.11%

On Sept. 17, 2025, the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation set the maximum 2026 property-tax levy for the Park and Recreation Board at a 6.11% increase over the prior year. The vote established the ceiling within which the Park Board would later build its 2026 budget.

The Board of Estimate and Taxation, often called the BET, is a small, independent body, separate from both the City Council and the Park Board, that caps how much each Minneapolis taxing unit can levy in property taxes for the coming year. Those caps are maximums: a unit can adopt a final levy at or below its ceiling, but not above it. The September vote is therefore the first hard number of the budget season.

For 2026, the BET set the Park Board's maximum $1,061,413 above Mayor Jacob Frey's recommendation, additional room the board flagged in support of Graco and Upper Harbor parks, two projects on the city's north riverfront. Setting the maximum above the mayor's number was a deliberate choice to preserve funding the BET majority wanted protected.

At the same time, the 6.11% ceiling came in below what the Park Board itself had requested. At its July 16 meeting, Park Board commissioners voted to ask the BET for a 6.75% increase to maintain service levels and care for park assets. The gap between the request and the ceiling reflects the central tension of the season: how much to raise on taxpayers already facing increases versus how much the aging park system needs.

The park levy is one component of a Minneapolis homeowner's total property-tax bill, which also includes the larger city levy and other taxing units, all appearing on the same Hennepin County statement. How much any individual bill rises also depends on a home's assessed value relative to others.

For residents who want to influence next year's number, the lesson is that the ceiling is set early, in September, before most people are watching the budget. Residents can review the BET's actions and levy documents at minneapolismn.gov/bet.

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[unverifiable: exact maximum-levy dollar total ($94,956,722 in prior draft) and the final adopted December levy figure could not be independently confirmed; the city-levy percentage for 2026 was reported as a roughly 10.8% proposal rather than the 7.8% in the prior draft, so specific city-levy figures were omitted.]