St. Paul, Ramsey County Propose Increased Budgets, Property Taxes for 2026

On September 4, after a weeks-long delay caused by the cyber attack on the City, Mayor Melvin Carter laid out his proposed $887 million budget for 2026.

“Budgets are where our values meet reality,” Carter said in his address. “We began this year facing a $23 million deficit and unjust federal funding threats. And yet, together, we’ve built a balanced plan—without layoffs—that puts residents first.”

Two days prior, on September 2, Ramsey County Manager Ling Becker submitted a proposed two-year budget to the Ramsey County Board, coming in at just under $2 billion for the bi-enium, $929 million in 2026 and nearly $968.5 million in 2027.

“This proposed budget shows our commitment to using every dollar wisely, protecting essential county services, and strengthening the systems that support our residents and businesses,” Becker said in a statement. “This is the most difficult budget in our recent history. It requires tough trade-offs, including targeted staff reductions and service adjustments. But it also invests in our people, our services and the systems our community depends on.”  

Budget increases

The County’s proposed budget totals a 6.5% overall budget increase from the 2025 budget and a 4.2% increase from 2026. 

St. Paul’s budget is proposed to increase about 3.75%, from $855 million to $887 million. 

Carter said that the increases in next year’s budget come down to three major areas: rising costs from inflation, declining revenues and maintaining commitments to fix issues left behind by prior administrations.

“We cannot repeat the mistakes of past leaders who kicked the can down the road,” he said.

The City’s budget includes a $10 million package to boost housing, economic growth and downtown revitalization efforts. It also includes $1 million to combat fentanyl and opioid use, $1 million to strengthen cybersecurity, especially in light of the cyber threat the city faced last month, $600,000 to support PAULIE, the city’s new permitting and licensing platform and an additional $200,000 to support district councils. 

The County’s budget calls for new investments in Project Bridge, a program to address overcrowding at the Adult Detention Center, the Appropriate Response Initiative, which shifts some emergency response from police and fire units to mental health, public health and community partnerships and expanding staffing in Child Protection Services. It also calls for the reduction of 43 positions across the County.

“These are not easy decisions, but they are responsible ones,” Becker added. “They protect long-term stability while keeping our focus squarely on delivering core county services.” 

Raising property taxes

To pay for those increases, both the City and the County will need to raise additional funds, which means increased property tax levies.

St. Paul’s budget proposes a 5.3% increase toward a $232.5 million property tax levy—about $107 a year, or $9 a month, on a median-value home. 

For Ramsey County, they include a property tax levy increase of 9.75% in 2026 and 7.5% in 2027, an increase of about $16.50 per month, or around $200, in 2026 and an additional $14 a month, or $167, in 2027 on the median-value home.

Those proposed increases, along with the School Board referendum to raise $35 million annually could increase the average St. Paul homeowners property taxes significantly, potentially over $600 annually on a median-priced home in the city.

What’s next?

For St. Paul, the process will move quickly. The City Council will set the maximum property tax levy in September [the maximum amount had not been set by the time of publication]. Once the maximum tax levy for the year is set, budgets can be adjusted but cannot exceed the approved amount.

The City Council is required to hold public hearings, including one joint hearing with the school board typically held in December, before adopting the 2026 budget. The Mayor has line item veto authority on the final Council approved budget. Dates and times of public hearings have yet to be announced.

The County Board also approves a maximum levy in September and will mail out property tax statements with the maximum amount of the proposed taxes shortly thereafter. Ramsey County currently has their Truth in Taxation public hearing scheduled for December 11 and is expecting to finalize their budget on December 16.

Learn more

• St. Paul – find the proposed budget, important dates, past budgets and more at stpaul.gov/budget.
• Ramsey County – find the County’s proposed bi-annual budget, processes and more at ramseycounty.us/budget