MOORHEAD — A crowd of firefighter union and other union members watched as Moorhead City Council members voted to set a preliminary tax levy for a 2026 budget with room to hire up to six new firefighters.

During the Monday, Sept. 22 meeting, which became heated at times, council members weighed three levy options with different amounts of funding for the Moorhead Fire Department. Ultimately, members voted 6-2 to approve a preliminary property tax rate increase of 5.58%. The increase would result in a total levy amount of $26.99 million.

By approving the preliminary tax levy, council members capped the levy amount at $26.99 million. The council can lower the levy amount when it adopts the final budget in December, but cannot increase the levy.

Council members agreed to work to bring the

See Full Page