The Columbia Heights City Council voted 4–0 at its Dec. 8 meeting to approve the city’s 2026 budget and levy, which includes a 9.2% tax increase. Council Member Laurel Deneen was absent.
Finance Director Joseph Kloiber said Columbia Heights begins its annual budgeting process in April, when staff start estimating the city’s needs for the next fiscal year. A draft budget is developed through the summer and published in August for the city manager’s recommendation, as required by the city charter.
For 2026, the gross tax levy increase is 9.2%, Kloiber said. The city’s total budget is $64,889,600, and the city levy is $19,943,000.
Kloiber added that Columbia Heights’ levy is subsidized each year by property owners outside the city through the state’s Metro Area Fiscal Disparities program. Because of this, the net tax increase for Columbia Heights residents is 8.2%, lower than the gross increase.
During the 2025 budget review process, the council raised two additional concerns beyond the city manager’s proposal: staffing for the library and remediation of wear and tear at Murzyn Hall. These were not added to the budget, but staff will develop plans for both in early 2026.
The library’s main issue is staffing structure, Kloiber said; while vacancies exist, it is unclear whether more funding is needed. Needs at Murzyn Hall can be addressed through the building fund without affecting the levy.
Resident Forum
A resident asked how people outside the city subsidize Columbia Heights’ levy. Kloiber explained that the fiscal disparities program redistributes a share of the region’s commercial and industrial tax base among cities.
“The original intent was that, the way the Twin Cities had developed, there was a few communities that got most of the commercial industrial development,” Kloiber said. “The big shopping malls, etc… And neighboring communities that didn’t have as much commercial development bore greater needs.”
He added that cities with higher homeownership often have greater service demands and more tax-exempt properties, such as schools and churches.
The formula is updated using the prior year’s levy, Kloiber said.
Another resident asked how often property values were evaluated. Kloiber said the county mails valuation notices each spring, allowing owners to challenge their assessment before the Board of Appeals, with both county staff and city council members present.
Anoka County produces annual property values with a goal of physically viewing 20% of parcels each year, completing a full cycle every five years. In off-years, values rely on a sales-based pricing model.
A resident asked about tax differences between Columbia Heights and other cities, citing his own bill compared to Blaine. Kloiber said several factors drive differences, including municipal services and structure.
He noted that Columbia Heights is the only city in Anoka County with its own municipal library, so costs that other cities pay through the county library levy appear directly on Heights’ city taxes.
Kloiber added that a home valued at $250,000 in Columbia Heights does not necessarily compare directly to one elsewhere due to tax structure, service levels and other municipal differences, including the contrast between Hennepin and Anoka counties.
Another resident asked why property taxes were rising so sharply, saying some residents struggled to keep their homes. Kloiber said that when the county hasn’t inspected a property directly, it relies on recent sales of similar homes to estimate value.
He said Columbia Heights saw residential values rise 3.5% from 2025 to 2026, compared to 4.5% in the rest of Anoka County.
Council Discussion and Context
Council Member Connie Buesgens said Columbia Heights’ taxes are higher in part because the city is an urban center, not a suburb or rural area, and because only 5% of city property is commercial.
Buesgens said previous councils made “a million cuts over decades,” leading to current infrastructure challenges.
“For instance… their plan was to build a new city hall on commercial property, and then leave the fire department in our old city hall,” she said. “Our old city hall is a hodgepodge of three different additions added to it over 100 years… They made do.”
She added that Murzyn Hall is also in “desperate need of an upgrade.”
“Like I tell my neighbors, there’s no diamonds in our budget. There’s no trips to Hawaii,” Buesgens said. She added that she is grateful the city participates in the fiscal disparities program and wishes the contribution back to the city were larger.
Council Member Justice Spriggs said national cuts to federal funding and grants create difficult choices.
“That’s always a hard decision and kind of a lose-lose,” Spriggs said. “We want to keep taxes low, but we also want to keep those services that people have come to expect and really need the same.”
Kloiber said that in 2026, the city is transitioning away from street assessments and will instead finance street work through the tax levy, which accounts for about one-third of the increase.
He said the 2026 budget includes two new positions — one in police and one in code enforcement.
Council Member Rachel James said it is a hardship for residents to pay more for everything and noted that about half of the city’s budget supports public safety, with call volumes increasing each year.
Mayor Amada Marquez Simula said the city previously received a grant to fund a full-time social worker position. The program went so well that the city decided to continue funding the role itself. She said a second individual was added after a successful grant application.
Simula said the city receives many calls and emails about derelict properties needing code enforcement, and staff require more time and direction to address these issues.