Steve Brandt Interview
On Wednesday evening, the Board of Estimate and Taxation (BET) will decide whether to accept Mayor Frey’s proposed 11.3 percent property tax levy increase or amend it. The decision affects most Minneapolis residents. Whether you own a home or rent an apartment, your monthly payment is likely to go up.
A complicated formula determines exactly how much each property’s taxes will change. Some owners, especially in neighborhoods where property values have risen, could see increases of as much as 20 percent. In 2026, 3,328 properties saw increases of more than 20 percent. Ward 12 had the highest median increase at 13.39 percent, meaning half of the properties in the ward rose by more than that and half by less.
My guest in this interview is Steve Brandt, an elected member of the BET. Brandt plans to push for a levy increase below 10 percent. As he puts it, “For the greatest number of city taxpayers, the increase from an 11.3% levy would be in the 15 to 20% range. And so that’s horrendous. And I don’t support it.”
The board has six members: Mayor Jacob Frey, Council President Elliott Payne, Council Budget Chair Aisha Chughtai, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Tom Olsen, and two elected representatives, Steve Brandt and Eric Harris Bernstein. A measure needs a majority to pass, so Brandt will need to win over three of his colleagues. His case is straightforward: “Our spending has risen faster than our revenues… I would like to do more on the spending-cut side.” He believes it is time to separate the city’s “nice-to-haves” from its “must-haves.”
Bottom Line
Brandt is not alone in thinking the mayor’s proposed levy is too high and that the city needs to cut more before asking residents for more money. If his plan is adopted Wednesday, the parks will receive their full request of 5.86 percent for 2027, and the overall levy increase will stay below 10 percent. He explains in the interview that if the BET cannot reach a decision by the end of September, the levy increase will remain at the 2026 level of 8 percent. If Frey’s proposal is approved, the owner of a median-priced $333,000 home will pay about $409 more per year, on top of the $242 increase in 2026.
Brandt sees several ways the city could tighten control of spending: managing job vacancies more carefully, strengthening oversight of MPD overtime and related costs, and pursuing revenue sources that reduce the city’s reliance on homeowners.
If commercial real estate values stay depressed over the next several years, the city will need both new revenue and stronger fiscal discipline to keep the cost of city government from overwhelming residents. One idea we discussed, which other cities have tried, is an income tax on high earners. Another is voluntary payments from large tax-exempt property owners such as hospitals, universities, churches, and nonprofits. Boston has used this approach on the reasoning that these institutions rely on city services like fire and police protection but do not pay into the funds that support them. The city could publish an annual list showing which institutions paid and which did not, adding public pressure to contribute. Brandt also raised the idea of a deed-transfer tax, which would charge a small percentage each time a property changes hands. That option would require approval from the Legislature.
The city has three levers for maintaining its fiscal health: lower spending, raise property taxes, or find other sources of revenue. Maintaining the level of service Minneapolis residents have come to expect may take a combination of all three.
