Statement on Approval of Hennepin County's 2027 Maximum Levy
On September 29, the Hennepin County Board voted to set the 2027 maximum property tax levy at 8.15% — I was proud to support the item. The proposed 2027 operating and capital budget is $2.993 billion, 5.3% smaller than 2026, and the maximum levy is $1.219 billion, $91.8 million more than this year.
All year, this Board set clear direction to protect democracy, public services, and our most vulnerable neighbors, and this budget meets that direction.
Hennepin County approaches our budget differently. Since January, County Administration presented regularly at Board and committee meetings and Board briefings, and received clear direction from this Board. Because Commissioners and County staff started this process early and in public, we solved problems before they reached the proposed budget:
We preserved library hours.
We avoided mass County layoffs.
We faced an 18.5% increase in employee health insurance costs, and we reached an agreement with 16 unions to share that increase in a predictable and sustainable way.
Our proposed levy came in lower than the 8.5% that was projected.
These are all meaningful at a time when service cuts and layoffs are being proposed at local governments across Minnesota.
The budget is less and the levy is more because property tax is just one part of the County's revenue. Federal and state funding for mandated human services drops by nearly $28 million next year, and the scale of disinvestment in services our residents rely on is truly unprecedented. When that funding is cut, the need does not go away. It lands on the County, and on our neighbors. We are making up for some of it this year with property tax, and we know that is not sustainable.
This is the first time in my time on the Board that the overall budget has decreased, and to be honest I felt saddened when I first saw it. I believe strongly that investment in public goods and services is how we build strong communities, and we will not shrink our way to the future our kids deserve and our elders have earned. But we are in a specific moment, and this is what is necessary as we look ahead.
Local government is the last line of defense. Residents do not experience their lives in silos, and this budget has to meet them where they are. I'm proud of our workforce and partners, who have delivered incredible results in a time of great need, and we will do so again.
Hennepin's levy increase means the median-value Hennepin home would pay $139 more a year in 2027, about $11.50 a month. That will be combined with other jurisdictions' increases on the property tax bill you receive. The Board votes on the final budget on December 15.