Budget adjustments made by the Minot City Council earlier this month would turn a proposed property-tax increase into a property-tax decrease, according to figures released by the City of Minot Finance Director David Lakefield this week.

After recalculations following a Sept. 19 council meeting, Lakefield reported the originally proposed tax increase of $6.66 per $100,000 of home value would become a decrease of $7.24 per $100,000.

The numbers don’t consider any increases in property valuations, which many homeowners experienced. The actual effect of the change would depend on the degree of valuation adjustments on individual properties.

The cuts by council members trimmed $699,976, or about 3.09 mills, from the preliminary budget, which is a reduction of 1.61 mills from the current budget.

The budget changes included eliminating proposed new positions for an assistant city manager, civil engineer, light and heavy equipment operators, a buildings and grounds worker and a drug task force member. It also eliminated two of the current vacant police officer positions and two electrical inspectors in favor of contracting with the state electrical board for inspections. The preliminary budget estimated a 10% increase in health insurance premiums. The actual change was a 2% decrease, impacting the tax calculation.

The city council is expected to take action on the 2023 budget at its meeting Oct. 3.