On Monday December 2, the Hastings City Council will hold its annual Truth in Taxation meeting for the 2025 city budget. The Truth in Taxation meeting was first adopted in Minnesota in 1988 meant to “enhance public participation in Minnesota’s property tax system,” according to the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department. As part of this increased public participation, local governments are required to hold a public meeting to discuss the budget and tax issues where public testimony is allowed. For Hastings, that meeting will take place on Monday December 2, at 7:00 at city hall.
Hastings’ preliminary 2025 budget is $42,274,045 with a preliminary levy at $20,049,930. For context, the 2024 budget was more than $1 million more than the proposed 2025 budget at $43,834,578, while the 2024 levy was about $1.5 million less than the proposed 2025 levy at $18,649,930. The 2025 preliminary levy represents a 7.5% increase over 2024 which translates to an annual property tax increase of $106 for median valued homes in Hastings at $313,300.
Key additions to the 2025 preliminary budget include two new firefighter/EMT positions. 2025 marks the final year in a three-year plan to hire six new firefighters/EMTs. The city will be hiring a second school resource officer (SRO), a cost shared with the school district. ISD 200 currently only has one SRO, Officer Georgeann Freeman-Denn, who spoke at the November 7 school board work session about her busy schedule moving between schools in the district. According to Hastings Police Chief Dave Wilske at the November 20 school board meeting, a second SRO would better allow the position to function towards its intended goal of a proactive approach towards working with students rather than a reactive one.
A major expense in the 2025 budget is the first of three water treatment plans to be built to treat city water for PFAS. $20.6 million has been set aside for the first water treatment plant, expected to be located at 1290 N Frontage Rd, where Carbone’s Pizzeria is currently located. Construction on the central water treatment plant is expected to begin in 2025. Water rates to pay for the first water treatment plant are set to rise 10% on January 1, 2025 with a second increase in July as the construction costs and 3M funding for the central water treatment plant become more clear. Sewer rates are set to rise 4.5% and stormwater rates will rise 4%.
Asset management is another area of focus for the city for the 2025 budget. The city is pivoting towards increased focus on maintenance for its vehicles and facilities. “Over the last couple of years, I think we have been making a much more deliberate effort at maintaining these and want to continue that effort. In the past we have had an unofficial practice of ‘drive the vehicles into the ground,’” said City Administrator Dan Wietecha at the September 3 City Council meeting, overviewing the 2025 budget. According to city officials, this new practice is expected to save the city money long-term.
Asset management in the 2025 budget includes $900,000 for three new police squads as part of a five-year rotation, $300,000 for a new plow/dump truck, $150,000 for a new brush truck, and $200,000 for new pool gutters at the Hastings Family Aquatic Center.
While Infrastructure projects within the 2025 budget are dominated by the first water treatment plant, several other projects are included in the budget: $1.6 million for water tower reconditioning, $4.2 million for the 2025 neighborhood project, $550,000 to replace the traffic signal on Trunk Highway 55, and $450,000 for Sewer Pipelining.
For more information about the 2025 budget, visit https://www.hastingsmn.gov/city-government/city-council/city-budget