Before I jump into this week’s discussion – happy Thanksgiving! I really hope you can take time off to enjoy family and loved ones. Before the year ends, join us for some holiday cheer! Don’t miss Holiday Chamber Connect on Tuesday, Dec. 9, and the Young Professionals Holiday Party on Thursday, Dec. 11. We look forward to seeing you!
 
You would have seen the headlines last week: Minnesota property taxes statewide may go up close to $1 billion next year. Preliminary data from the state Department of Revenue shows statewide levies could reach $14.6 billion next in 2026, a 6.9% increase over 2025. 
 
While these numbers represent maximum preliminary levies, they set the stage for final budgets by end of year. Historically, final increases come in lower than initial estimates – but the trend is clear: property taxes have been rising throughout the 2020s as inflation and costs shifts squeeze local budgets. 
 
Recent Statewide Levy Increases
• 2025 — 5.6% or $718.6 million.
• 2024 — 6.4% or $775 million.
• 2023 — 5.4% or $626 million.
• 2022 — 3.9% or $431 million.
• 2021 — 2.1% or $226 million.
• 2020 — 4.6% or $501 million.
 
Ramsey County: Why Taxes are Rising
I talked with Ramsey County Manager Ling Becker: “We appreciate your partnership as we continue to navigate a challenging 2026 budget and the difficult forecasts driven by impending federal and state cost shifts. The National Association of Counties (NACo) estimates that we are up against a $1 Trillion shift from the federal government to local governments. As we discussed in September, counties have very limited financial tools and remain overly dependent on a regressive property tax system. Combined with the fact that nearly 14% of our county’s property is tax-exempt [more than any other metro county], these constraints place significant pressure on our long-term fiscal stability.”
 
Key facts about Ramsey County’s budget:

• 46% funded by property taxes; the rest from state, federal, and other sources.
• Levy increases: 4.75% (2025), 6.8% (2024), 4.5% (2023).
• Major priorities to grow the tax base: Rice Creek Commons, RiversEdge.

 
What’s Driving the Increase?
Several factors are pushing Ramsey County’s levy higher:

• 14% of property is tax-exempt (highest in metro).
• 47% of downtown tax-exempt (Capitol complex).
• State aid formula caps for counties over 500K residents.
• Unfunded mandates and cost shifts for human services (SNAP, Medicaid).
• Rising employee compensation and core service needs (public safety, health).
• More tax burden shifted to residential properties due to decreasing apartment, commercial/industrial values. 

 
The County Board approved a maximum levy increase of 9.75% ($38.6M), though efforts continue to reduce that before final adoption on Dec. 16.
 
How Ramsey Compares Across the Metro
Ramsey County’s proposed increase is in line with regional trends. Metro counties are generally adopting upper single-digit to low double-digit levy hikes as costs rise statewide.
 
What It Means for Property Owners
Most Ramsey County property owners will see higher taxes in 2026 due to:

1. Assessment Year 2025 Value Increases
   • Overall values: +3.0%
   • Residential values: +4.76%
2. Levy Increases (TNT notices)
   • Ramsey County: +9.75%
   • City/Town: +7.26%
   • School District: +0.13% (impacts from school referendums are not included in the TNT statements)
   • Special Districts: +1.99%

Residential Trends:

• Median increase: +6.65% ($298)
• 11.5% see no change; 59% see 0–10% increase.

​For your reference, here are the maximum levies for the surrounding metropolitan counties.

Big news last week. A lot happened! The longest government shutdown in U.S. history ended after 43 days, Minnesota property taxes are going up, and Mayor-Elect Her shared her priorities for the year ahead.
 
Government shutdown: what it means.  Since 1977, the U.S. government has missed funding deadlines 20 times, with shutdowns lasting an average of 8 days. Read more here. This one, at 43 days, had a huge economic impact:

• About ½ of GDP growth from the past 6 months wiped out
• 42 million people lost access to SNAP benefits
• 670K federal workers were furloughed

 
Economic analysts are predicting ripple effects for the months ahead.  
 
Key economic trends leading into 2026.

1. K-Shaped Economy. Spending is splitting: future economic strength is increasingly reliant on the spending habits and confidence of high-income households while spending slows for the balance of consumers. People are expressing a sense of “falling behind.”
2. Tariffs Hit Hard. And will continue to weigh on consumers and slow small business growth.
3. Job Market Anxiety. The “Great Freeze” and “job hugging” are here – especially among younger workers.​

 
Next Week: We’ll dive more into Minnesota, and Ramsey County specifically, on property tax challenges ahead.
 
See you in the trenches,
B

This week, I want to share key takeaways from last week’s InterCity Leadership Visit to Detroit – a powerful and inspiring experience. If you’d like to hear more, join us for our Lunch with Leaders on November 12, focused on Downtown Revitalization. Joe Spencer of the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance will share Saint Paul’s updates and include insights from our Detroit visit. 
 
Detroit’s story is remarkable. After declaring bankruptcy in 2013, the city has made staggering progress. Leaders who spoke to us credited their turnaround to a shared mindset, “radical collaboration”:

1. No one was coming to save them — they had to act.
2. Government, business, and philanthropy had to collaborate.
3. They built a plan and made tough choices to execute it.

 
The results speak volumes: revitalized downtown, improved riverfront, reduced crime, and strong community pride. While they’ve only achieved about 5% of their long-term goals, the momentum is real — unified, focused, and inspiring (for context, the Time article “The Tragedy of Detroit” from October 2009 is a powerful read.)
 
On our final day, we asked: What is our Detroit moment? Must we face a similar existential crisis to find clarity and unity? Or can we learn and adapt now?
 
Detroit’s leaders described the MSP region as “one of the winners” over the past decade. Consider this: Saint Paul’s four vacant buildings pale in comparison to Detroit’s 30% population decline, 12 skyscrapers (their “dirty dozen”) either redeveloped or demolished and one more ahead with a $1.2B demolition price tag, $33K median income, and miles of abandoned homes/commercial properties.
 
One of our attendees to Detroit, Paul Campbell, Founder and CEO of Brown Venture Group, added his takeaways below.  He is very insightful!
 
I’m especially grateful for the perspectives each of you brought. The experience was enriched by your voices, and I’m looking forward to our Minnesota-side follow-up.
 
This morning, I asked myself: Could our Detroit moment be rooted in our strengths? Might our greatest assets also be our greatest vulnerabilities?
 
As Matt Lewis (GreaterMSP) noted, we’re in a time of rapid change. AI and the data centers powering it are reshaping every sector. Our region’s pride in hosting the highest per capita number of Fortune 500 companies could also mean greater exposure to workforce disruption. For example, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang predicts AI’s impact could reach $100 trillion across industries.
 
So, what does this mean for Minnesota’s workforce? What if we could redeploy talent from our legacy companies to launch and scale future firms — perhaps becoming the OEM backbone for emerging industries like Detroit’s mobility sector?
 
As the saying goes: “A smart person learns from their mistakes; a wise person learns from the mistakes of others.” Let’s be wise and learn from Detroit:

1. The cavalry isn’t coming — it’s already here. Let’s shift from benchmarking to trendsetting.
2. Let’s stop pointing fingers and start lifting each other up.
3. Knowledge and contribution aren’t cornered markets. We need collaboration across public, private, philanthropic, and community sectors — including voices that challenge our own.
4. Beware institutional complacency. Remember when Blackberry dismissed touchscreen phones? If we don’t stay hungry, humble, and smart, we risk losing our headquarters bragging rights.

 
See you in the trenches,
B