BLUE EARTH– A heated discussion over the 2026 budget was the primary focus of the Blue Earth City Council Meeting on Monday with council members clashing over exactly how low the final number should be and what further cuts must be made to get there.

City administrator Dawn Collins presented the council with an amended version of the 2026 budget, taking into account all of the feedback and adjustments suggested by the council members in their previous meetings.

“With all of the changes we have discussed, I have cut the budget for 2026 down to $2.6 million, which would be an increase of around 13 percent,” Collins shared. “I have also included a different set of numbers that leaves a few more items in our budget, but I would like to hear the council’s opinion on where things stand.”

Several council members voiced their disapproval at how high the levy still was, and many said that they would like to take another week to look over the budget and make a final decision.

“I think that 13 percent is still too high for us to pass,” council member Ann Hanna remarked. “I think there are still areas that we could cut to get it down even lower.”

“I agree, and would like to suggest that we take another week to think about this,” council member John Huisman added. “I hope we all heard the citizens who came to speak at our Truth in Taxation meeting, because they were not happy with how high it was.”

Mayor Rick Scholtes offered some pushback on that idea, citing that the budget had already seen dramatic cuts, and if any more were removed than certain city amenities would also have to be cut.

“I’m of the opinion that if we cut any more from the budget, the city is going to suffer for it,” Scholtes explained. “We’ve already brought our numbers down from 51.7 percent all the way to 13 percent, which doesn’t leave us much flexibility in making further cuts.”

“I would like to ask that we wait a week, and have Dawn make a list of all of our different options so that we can see them all together and make an informed decision,” council member Stephanie Walters proposed. “We should all be on the same page before we pass the budget for next year.”

Following further discussion, a decision was made to hold a Special City Council meeting at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 22 to make a final decision on the budget. No formal action was taken on the issue at this time.

Other business discussed at the City Council meeting included:

— Ordinance 25-04 to update Section 5.05 of the Blue Earth City Charter, correcting the petition format to include the birth date of the signer, was passed by unanimous vote.

— Resolution 25-42 approving a State Airport Fund grant for the T-Hangar project was unanimously approved.

— A professional service agreement with Frundt, Lundquist, & Gustavson, Ltd. for city attorney services in 2026 was unanimously approved.

— A professional service agreement with Bolton & Menk for general engineering services in 2026 was unanimously approved.

— A reimbursement request from the Faribault County Historical Society was unanimously approved.