Sauk Rapids Passes 2026 Budget At Year’s Final Council Meeting

(KNSI) – The Sauk Rapids City Council approved the 2026 budget unanimously on Monday night, increasing the tax levy by 8.92%.

The budget’s General Fund is nearly $700,000 more than this year. Finance Director Jack Kahlhamer says the biggest factor driving the surge is recent hires in the police and public works departments. They’ll be on staff for the entirety of 2026 rather than just part of the year.

Health insurance is another sore spot, with premium increases well into the double figures. “It was 19% last year, 20% this year. So, I think a lot of the stuff we’re hearing in the news, it’s no different with us.”

Kahlhamer notes Sauk Rapids just recently hit 50 employees, moving it into a large group plan for the first time. The transition didn’t seem to help alleviate the health insurance hikes, though.

Sauk Rapids officials are echoing what has been said in other communities. Local governments are not immune to the inflation pressures seen by the average person. Kahlhamer says that is particularly true of maintenance costs within the public works department.

In regards to the Enterprise Funds budget, he predicts services like utilities will go up mid-single digits for the average resident, holding all else constant. “I’m anticipating anywhere between a 4.5% to 5% increase when you add them all together. Now, that varies, because if it’s a really dry summer, people are going to have more water usage [for example].”

Monday was the last Sauk Rapids City Council meeting of 2025.

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