Park Levy vs. City Levy: Why Lowry Hill Homeowners Pay Two Bills

Minneapolis homeowners pay toward two separate local governments on a single property-tax statement: the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The Park Board is not a city department. It has its own elected commissioners, its own budget and its own taxing authority, a structure rooted in a century-old charter decision to give the park system independent governance and a dedicated funding stream.

For 2026, MPRB commissioners voted in July 2025 to request a 6.75% levy increase from the city's Board of Estimate and Taxation, part of a proposed levy of roughly $95.5 million meant to maintain service levels and care for park assets. The city's own 2026 levy, by contrast, was held flat under the December budget deal between Mayor Jacob Frey and the City Council. Both figures, plus the county and school levies, land on the same Hennepin County statement.

For a Lowry Hill homeowner, that means "my taxes went up" can point to the park levy, the county or the schools even in a year the city portion did not move. Each body also runs its own public process: the city holds budget hearings on police, public works and regulatory services, while the Park Board holds separate hearings on the lakes, parkways and trails. A resident upset about the park portion gets nowhere at a city hearing.

Supporters of the independent board argue it shields the lakes-and-parks system from being raided in lean city budgets and gives parks a dedicated champion. Critics counter that two levies make the total tax burden harder to see and let two bodies raise rates in the same year without either accounting for the combined effect.

Hennepin County issues the statement that itemizes the city, park, county and school components. Once a homeowner knows which line drove an increase, they can direct concerns to the right venue: city budget hearings for the city levy, Park Board hearings for the park levy.