Bemidji City Council Discusses 2020 Financial Plan

During Monday’s City Council work session, council members discussed the 2020 financial plan for the city of Bemidji.

The discussion focused on the general fund for revenue adjustments and expense adjustments. The total for the revenue adjustment came out to be $405,426, and there was a 6.9 percent levy reduction. For the expense adjustment items, the total cost came out to be $713,000. That had a 12.2 percent levy impact.

“We talked about revenue, we talked about expenses, we didn’t talk about the new construction value,” Bemidji Finance Director Ron Eischens said. “Typically we see a higher percentage of new construction value impact to the levy. A number of the larger commercial developments that are underway aren’t hitting the tax rolls until 2021.”

The city council plans to continue the 2020 budget in August.