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Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert gave city councilors a gift: a modest 2.7% property tax increase in his 2026 budget proposal. Modest, sensible, predictable. But apparently modest isn’t Duluth’s style.
The city council is already talking about sweetening that number by another $440,000 — not for police, not for plows, not for fixing the crater fields we call streets. Nope. To shovel more money into the Duluth Transit Authority. But hey, why not? It’s not the councilors’ checkbooks. They’re playing Santa Claus with yours.
The DTA’s ask? Jack their local property tax levy from about $2.3 million to $3.3 million in 2026. A 43% jump. In one shot.
Forty-three percent. Imagine if your landlord tried that. Or if Cub Foods marked up your milk 43% at the register. Or Minnesota Power padded your light bill 43% overnight. People would storm the building. But when the DTA does it? The council shrugs and says, “Sure, what’s another half-million?”
Let’s get this straight: this isn’t about “keeping the buses running.” It’s about a transit system that spent Covid relief money on shiny capital projects instead of shoring up day-to-day operations, signed fat contracts they couldn’t afford, and budgeted like Washington’s money faucet would stay open forever. Now that it’s dry, the plan is simple: dump it on property owners.
The excuse parade is predictable. Labor costs are up 15% because of Minnesota’s new time-off law, which the DTA’s contract already exceeded. Bus costs? Up nearly 60% in two years, thanks to tariffs and inflation. Parts? Back-ordered. The state? MnDOT carried more of the DTA’s costs this year, letting them coast by with barely a bump. But next year MnDOT cuts back, so it’s your turn.
And pensions? Don’t pretend they were a surprise. The DTA’s union contract, signed in 2022, runs through 2026 and requires $2.5 million a year in pension contributions. That wasn’t fine print. That was bold type. They knew it, signed it, and now pitch it like an act of God.
Other transit agencies? They phase in levy hikes, cut dead-weight routes, delay capital projects, and actually build reserves. Duluth? We bought shiny buses, padded pensions, and doubled down on perks. Then hoped nobody would notice the bill coming due. That’s not leadership. That’s Vegas with your tax dollars.
And here’s the hostage note: without the levy bump, the warming center shuttles and Port Town Trolley might get axed. Same playbook every time. Threaten the feel-good programs first, then dare the council to look heartless. And you better believe councilors will play along — it lets them look compassionate while they’re reaching deeper into your pocket.
Meanwhile, property owners are tapped. A 43% levy hike doesn’t just hit them — it jacks up rents when landlords pass the cost to tenants. Duluth renters already pay champagne prices for beer-quality apartments. This will just pour another round. And looming over all of it is the elephant sitting squarely on Duluthians’ chests: the double-digit school levy increase coming in 2027. That one’s already penciled in.
So here’s the future: in 2026, you pay more for buses. In 2027, the schools take their chunk. Add in city taxes, county taxes, utilities, groceries, gas, insurance, and rent, and you’ll need a second job just to keep up.
Remember when the DTA’s levy share was just under 3% back in 2005? By 2023 it was 2.15%, then dipped under 2% the last two years. Now they want to bounce back up to 2.6%. That yo-yo act might work at the toy store, but it doesn’t help anyone plan a household budget. Families can’t plan. Businesses can’t plan. The only thing predictable is that the DTA will be back next year, hat in hand, while the council nods along like bobbleheads.
Here’s the raw translation: “We overspent, we didn’t plan, we signed obligations we couldn’t afford, and now you, the taxpayer, are going to bail us out. Again.” And your city council? They’re not watchdogs. They’re enablers. They’d rather raid your wallet than tell the DTA “no.”
So buckle up, Duluthians. Grip those wallets tighter. Maybe weld them shut. Because this bus isn’t headed downtown — it’s barreling straight through your checking account. And when the schools climb aboard in 2027, don’t bother asking who’s driving. The only thing free on this ride is the financial pain.
