At its Dec. 9 meeting, the New Hope City Council approved the City’s 2025 budget and tax levy.
The 2025 general fund budget is $19,580,813, a 5.4% increase over 2024. The total tax levy for 2025, including the general fund, street and park infrastructure funds, economic development and housing and redevelopment authorities, prior debt levies and bonds, is $21,429,909, reflecting a 6.75% increase from last year. It includes a 5% increase to the three levies established last year at $100,000 each to build reserves for future capital outlay needs for the fire station, aquatic park and the city hall/police facility as outlined in the long-term financial plan. The tax levy also includes a 5% increase in the street and park infrastructure levies to support the long-term funding plans for street and park improvements.
Also included in the 2025 budget is an HRA tax levy of $441,163 and an Economic Development Authority (EDA) levy of $218,683. These funds will help finance redevelopment activities within the City, including the Scattered Site Housing Program. These levies received required approvals from the New Hope City Council and the Economic Development Authority at the Dec. 9 meeting.
New Hope will receive $1,311,814 in local government aid (LGA) in 2025, an increase of $5,654 from 2024. The City will utilize the revenue to offset central garage equipment and building replacement charges; it is not used for general operations.
Despite New Hope's property tax rate appearing higher than neighboring communities, nearly 8% of the rate is designated for the street infrastructure levy. This levy funds street infrastructure projects and spreads the cost of improvements across all tax-paying properties in the community, rather than only assessing adjacent properties.
According to the Hennepin County Assessor, the median home value in 2024 is $327,500, marking a 0.44% increase from 2023. Recent updates from the County suggest that the projected impact, based on the proposed 6.75% rate for homes valued between $175,000 and $500,000, is estimated to range from $30 to $283 per household.
Property Tax Relief Programs
The State of Minnesota provides direct property tax relief to qualified taxpayers, including the Homestead Credit Refund Program and the Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral Program. More information about these programs and others is available at
revenue.state.mn.us/property-tax-relief.
Links to the 2025 budget and corresponding presentation are available at
newhopemn.gov/finance.