Rochester City Council Meeting Summary (December 1, 2025)
Rochester City Council Meeting Summary (December 1, 2025)
The December 1, 2025, Rochester City Council meeting began with public comments regarding business licensure enforcement and property taxes. The Council proceeded to approve the agenda and consent calendar before holding a public hearing on the 2026 property tax levy, operating budget, and capital improvement plan (
Consent Calendar
- Items F1–F7 and F9–F10: Unanimously approved to be blocked and passed without separate deliberation.
- Item F8 (poll item by Councilmember Palmer): Approved as part of the consolidated block.
Public Comments & Testimony
- James Acklin: Expressed strong opposition to the proposed property tax increase, stating that local taxes are his largest expense and are aggravating the lack of affordable housing. He argued that public officials should adopt a "cost down" mentality similar to private corporations and expressed concern about major investment firms acquiring local rental properties.
- Molly Dennis: Expressed strong opposition to the property tax levy increase, citing a lack of transparency and details regarding wasteful spending, cronyism, and conflict of interest. She stated she was unable to speak during the initial open comment period and compelled the council to disclose exactly where every dollar is being spent before voting to raise taxes, noting the increase would disproportionately hurt senior citizens and working families.
Budget & Public Hearing (2026 Levy and Budget)
- Administrator Zelms: Presented the recommended 2026–2027 operating budget ($693.4 million total), the 2026–2031 Capital Improvement Plan ($1.1 billion total investment), and the 2026 property tax levy. He clarified that the $6.6 million increase in the tax levy represents a 5.95% increase in levy dollars, not a tax rate increase, and noted the net tax capacity rate is projected at 50.39%. He also outlined a 4% electric rate increase and a 9% water rate increase.
- RPU General Manager Tim McCullough: Explained that utility rate increases are driven by capital investments (advanced metering, power supply) and community growth, noting that unlike Austin, MN, Rochester is investing in new capacity and reliability.
- Councilmember Palmer: Proposed a series of amendments to cut costs by $1.1 million (a portion of the proposed 5.8% increase). He moved to: (1) use $500,000 from the 2025 contingency fund; (2) not fund an ADA management coordinator ($153,000); (3) delay funding for a North maintenance position ($134,000); (4) delay funding for an arborist position ($124,000); and (5) reduce the library budget by $245,000.
- Council Response to Amendments:
- Mayor Norton and Councilmember Keene opposed the ADA coordinator cut, stating a single expert is required by law and necessary for compliance.
- Councilmember Wall and others argued against the arborist cut, citing public safety concerns regarding tree maintenance and long-term city growth plans.
- Councilmember Miller supported the original budget, emphasizing the need for service levels and noting that transit is not funded by the tax levy.
- Vote: All amendments proposed by Councilmember Palmer failed. Mayor Norton and Councilmembers Keene, Miller, Fredericks, and Wall supported the original budget, while Councilmember Palmer and Councilmember Doring opposed it.
Discussion Items
- Mayo Clinic North Arrival Center & South Parking Ramp (Item H1):
- Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser: Recommended approving a conditional site development agreement for the Mayo Clinic project. She explained that a "campus approach" is necessary due to the scale of the 2.4 million square foot project. The agreement allows construction to proceed before a fully complete site plan is finalized, with conditions requiring design completion and a funding mechanism for the city to build public site items if Mayo fails to do so.
- Councilmember Palmer: Expressed confusion regarding the need for such a complex agreement and financial security clauses for a developer like Mayo, and questioned the necessity of funding a $20,000 study for Second Avenue.
- Councilmember Miller: Moved to remove the $20,000 Second Avenue study portion of the motion. The amendment to remove the study was voted down.
- Outcome: The Council approved the conditional site development agreement for the North Arrival Center and South Parking Ramp, allowing construction to proceed while final design elements are completed.
- Salvation Army Security and Rental Assistance (Council Initiated Action):
- Councilmember Palmer: Moved to instruct staff to enter a micro-contract ($20,000) with the Salvation Army from the 2025 contingency fund to address security needs at their health/dental clinic and fund rental assistance.
- Councilmember Keene: Expressed concern that this action sets a precedent for direct funding of specific nonprofit programs rather than supporting existing grant funds, noting the $20,000 will run out quickly.
- Administrator Zelms: Clarified that existing CDBG funds for this year were depleted and the Salvation Army may not be eligible for 2026 funds due to prior receipts, suggesting this as a one-time stopgap.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Adoption: The 2026–2027 Operating Budget, 2026–2031 Capital Improvement Plan, and 2026 General Tax Levy ($118,284,623) were unanimously adopted via a six-to-five vote (Councilmember Palmer voted nay).
- Utility Rates: Approved electric rate increase of 4% and water rate increase of 9% as part of the budget package.
- Mayo Clinic Project: Approved conditional site development agreements for the North Arrival Center and South Parking Ramp to allow construction to proceed under a phased approval process.
- Salvation Army: Approved a $20,000 micro-contract from the 2025 contingency fund for security and rental assistance.
- Ordinances: First reading of text amendment CD 2025-001 TA; Second reading and approval of ordinances amending license fees (K1) and special events chapter (K2) passed unanimously.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after the ordinances were approved and the final motions were passed.
Meeting Transcript
Please rise as you're able to for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the United States of America and to the Republic religious one nation under God with liberty and justice for all. Welcome everybody to our December 1st uh city council meeting. We begin each council meeting with our open comment period. This is an opportunity for anyone from the public to speak on items that we we will not be taking a separate public hearing on later in the agenda. Each person has up to two minutes to speak for a total of 20 minutes. Participants are further encouraged to limit comments generally to topics that are within the scope and jurisdiction of the council's ability to affect policy. Council members and staff do not respond to your comments during public comment, but will instead follow up on any specific requests separately. If you have materials to share with the council, please give them to the city clerk who is to the right of me. Uh and uh she will distribute it to uh council members. And at this point, I will invite you up uh in the order in which you signed up. First up is Casey McGregor. Hello, company. Oh, yep, there we go. Hello, council, uh Casey McGregor. I believe like our I believe licensed business owners are the backbone of our community. I've heard politicians on both sides of the political spectrum discussing enforcements to move move a political agendas. Removing the judicial branch from the procedure of licensure enforced is not trivial. Most important is when a business itself is put at risk. So I asked the council to consider amending the authorization for licensed enforcements via an administrative alternate to add the limitations that if a business is put at risk, the clerk's office must go through the courts and not use the expedited administration track, requiring the clerk to consider the implications of the enforcement before acting is part of the point. By federal constitution guarantee, the people are not to be deprived by government action of our property without due process of the law, and licenses are recognized property interests in protected under the constitution. See Wayne Lafayette. It is furthermore proper for council to reconsider and amend the licensor changes as the passage was not executed properly, as the substance of the item was changed without necessary action. The original proposed action considered of 17 business types, and the clerk removed gambling licenses from the administration enforcement, making it a list of 16. Council rules match Roberts' rules, and thus the action was improperly executed in revising this matter to correct the council should adopt a limitation that the clerk's office should revert to the actual court procedures if a business is reasonably at risk of undergoing the enforcement measure. A business owner could be shuttered with only limited appeal as means of any examination from a court. It is a fair enough principle that you should be able to see an actual judge before losing your business. Thank you. This is uh our open comment period. Anyone wishing to be uh heard, please step forward. Anyone wishing to be heard, please step forward. Seeing no one, we will close the public comment period. And uh Clerk Caso, could you please call the roll? Good evening. Councilmember Keene. Here, Councilmember Miller, here, Councilmember Wall. Here. Councilmember Fredericks. Here. Councilmember Palmer. Here. Councilmember Doring. Here. Council President Schubring. Here. Mayor Norton. Present. Thank you. Next up we have the City Administrators Report. Administrator Zelms.
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