Crystal Police Avoid Budget Cut As Council Approves Levy
The Crystal Police Department narrowly avoided a budget cut as the Crystal City Council approved its 2024 levy.
That levy, which was approved on Dec. 5, comes in at a 10 percent increase over the 2023 levy.
The council approved a $16.6 million levy for 2024. That’s about a $1.5 million increase over this year’s levy.
Just over half — or 51 percent — of the city’s general fund budget is going to public safety costs.
The Crystal Police Department narrowly avoided a budget cut as the Crystal City Council approved its 2024 levy.
As the council discussed this year’s budget and levy, Crystal Mayor Jim Adams moved to cut a new police analyst position from the budget.
The city is receiving a grant to cover the cost of that position for the next two years. But, salary and benefits for the analyst position would be about $180,000 starting in 2026.
With property taxes increasing for homeowners, Adams said he wanted to cut the position before it becomes a burden to the taxpayers.
“That’s going to give us additional [budget] pressure next year,” Adams said. “I just really need to emphasize that we need to be careful how we put pressure on future budgets.”
Likewise, Adams he believes a larger portion of the property tax burden will shift off of commercial properties and on to homeowners in 2025 and 2026.
“We’re not voting for future years, but it doesn’t make the problem go away,” Adams said. “So, as much as we can do this year, I would love to do that.”
The council ultimately voted 4-3 to keep the police position in the budget.
