Hopkins' 2013 Budget Drops a Bit

Just weeks after city leaders announced a modest increase, the preliminary budget and levy has already become smaller.

The 2013 levy that Hopkins City Council members preliminarily signed off on Tuesday is .99 percent, or $101,729, bigger than the 2012 levy—or the portion of the budget paid by local property taxes.

The overall budget is just .71 percent bigger than last year’s.

(Hopkins does not yet have the figures necessary to calculate the impact on a typical tax bill.)

That’s the smallest increase since at least 2007. It’s also a bit smaller than —which envisioned a 1.62 percent levy increase and a 1.26 percent budget increase.

Finance Director Christine Harkess attributed the growth largely to inflationary increases and decreases in other revenue streams.

“We have tried to keep these increases at the minimum needed for the services we’re providing,” Harkess said.

Under state law, the council can’t increase the budget and levy above the amount it OK’d Tuesday. However, it could lower the total further before granting final approval in December.

Harkess said there is already the possibility of more savings from lower-than-expected costs to refill vacant positions.

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