St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson to Present First Budget Monday Night

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson will present his first budget to the City Council tonight.

For 20 years, St. Cloud has kept property tax increases low by only raising taxes when property values went up. This policy has kept city spending $8 million less, when adjusted for inflation, compared to 2005. However, Anderson is considering changing this approach.

For 2026, he may propose property tax increases that exceed property value growth. The extra money would help cover rising costs for employee wages, benefits, and inflation.

Anderson was on the city council when they approved the current 2025 budget of $89.8 million, $2 million more than 2024 spending.

The city will set its preliminary budget next month, with final approval coming in December.

The meeting starts at 6:00.

Separately, Stearns County is dealing with its own budget challenges. County departments have requested up to $109 million for 2026, a potential 12.3% increase from the 2025 budget. The suggested increase would be twice as large as the 5.7% growth in county property values. To keep taxes reasonable, county commissioners set a goal to limit budget growth to 5.7%, matching property value increases. The county must approve its preliminary levy by September 23rd and plans to look for spending cuts before then. Like the city, the county will give final budget approval in December.

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