MARSHALL — The city of Marshall will have a levy increase for 2026, but a smaller one than what was proposed earlier this fall.

On Tuesday, city council members voted to approve a levy increase of $10.51 million, which would be an increase of 6.59% from 2025.

Back in September, Marshall had approved a preliminary levy increase of 7.5%. City staff were able to work on the budget to reduce the proposed levy increase to 6.59%, said E.J. Moberg, director of administrative services for the city.

“We’ve had numerous budget work sessions and other discussions about this throughout,” Moberg said. In the proposed budget, “Some of the dollar amounts have changed slightly as we’ve taken some things into account, but it’s still in the 6.59% increase range,” he said.

When council members started looking at the proposed 2026 budget, initial budget requests showed a need for a levy increase of close to 14%.

City staff said some of the contributing factors to city levy increases included increased payroll, insurance and benefit costs, and an increase in debt-related levies. At the city’s Truth in Taxation meeting, Moberg said Marshall saw an 11% increase in health insurance costs.

On Tuesday, city administrator Sharon Hanson said Marshall city staff received some feedback from the public. Staff were “continuing to research and refine” ways to reduce costs, she said.

The city couldn’t change its budget numbers after the council set a budget, Hanson said.

“But we’re continually looking at revenues and expenses, and in particular some of those items that were brought forward. We’ll have a closer look at some of those particular items.”

Council member James Lozinski said he wanted to compliment city staff on their work reducing the levy.

“This was a hard budget to get to 6.59%,” Lozinski said.

“You guys really worked hard and looked at the numbers, and there were sacrifices made by all in this budget,” he said. Compared to a starting levy increase of over 10%, he said, “I think this is a really good outcome.”

In separate votes, council members approved the 6.59% levy increase, and then the city’s proposed 2026 budget.