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Jasper City Council members during a special Dec. 3 meeting settled on a 2026 property tax levy of $265,497.05, which is an increase of $18,523.05, or 7.5 percent.
The Council planned to approve the levy and a 2026 general fund budget of $688,800.33 after the annual truth in taxation meeting during its regular Dec. 9 meeting, which was after the Pipestone County Star’s publication deadline. State statute requires that such meetings be held and that the budget and levy be discussed and public input be allowed prior to the final budget and levy being approved.
Council members already heard some public input during the Dec. 3 special meeting at which Michelle Haack took issue with the city paying the full cost of healthcare insurance for city employees. She said that if city employees want insurance, it should come out of their checks.
Mayor Kim Lape said the city has paid for employees’ health insurance for as long as she could remember. Councilor Deb Plahn said she’d contacted several other cities and very few of them paid the full cost of health insurance for their employees. Council members discussed a variety of options regarding health insurance and expressed interest in discussing the topic further next year before approving an insurance plan.
Regarding the 2026 budget, City Council members and staff said former Jasper Mayor Les Nath provided valuable insight that helped them develop a more balanced budget after a previous version showed a projected deficit of $104,409.70. The revised budget showed general fund expenditures of $688,800.33 and projected general fund revenue of $681,500.55, leaving a projected deficit of $7,299.78.
The most significant changes to the proposed budget since the previous meeting were the elimination of $41,200 for a new camera system, which had to be paid this year; the removal of $30,000 budgeted for Bollig Engineering, which would be paid with grant funds; and a $26,532.88 reduction in employee health insurance. Jasper City Clerk/Treasurer Renae Thode said after the meeting that the insurance cost was reduced to reflect her upcoming marriage to Kevin Gum, who is a public works employee for the city. Those adjustments reduced the proposed general fund expenditures by $97,732.88.
The largest expenditures in the proposed general fund budget are $192,275.20 for wages and salaries, $107,232.12 for health insurance for employees, and $58,000 for law enforcement. The largest sources of general fund revenue are the $265,497.05 levy and $250,903 in Local Government Aid.