DULUTH – City leaders are proposing up to 15% raises for police officers, bigger training budgets for police and firefighters and permanent funding for a community crisis response team paid for with a much bigger property tax hike than the one presented earlier this month.
"One of our top priorities is public safety," said Duluth City Council President Renee Van Nett. "Today we're going to go beyond saying those things … and we're actually going to put things into action and into motion."
The budget plan unveiled at a news conference Thursday afternoon will add a nearly 4% increase to the 2022 levy on top of the 6% increase Mayor Emily Larson proposed earlier this month.
In total that equates to about a $27 increase in yearly property tax payments for the owner of a median-priced home in Duluth, according to city estimates. The mayor's initial levy proposal would have seen a $3 increase for the average homeowner.
The updated plan would also address a looming city health care cost crisis stemming from unsustainable insurance rate increases over the next few years that would create a nearly $20 million budget deficit by 2026.
Raises for city employees — largely paid for with one-time American Rescue Plan money — are being offered in exchange for renegotiated health care plans that the unions representing city workers would have to agree to.
"The path we are on does not lead us toward maintaining levels of service, does not lead us to financial security; it leads us toward bankruptcy," Larson said. "This is one of the most robust and exciting financial plans we have for a sustainable, steady, solid future in this community."
The 2023 levy will likely increase more than it does next year to meet these goals, but Council Member Arik Forsman said taxpayers could see savings in future years.
