The property taxes a Rosemount owner pays this fall are 2026 taxes. Dakota County mails proposed statements for 2027 in mid-November, and the city has already published its own estimates for the year. Rosemount's combined 2027 levy increase is 14.26%. The projected increase on the city's median-valued home is $133, which works out to an effective 8.9%.
The gap between those two percentages comes from the city's growth. The growth that is driving Rosemount's spending also spreads that spending across more taxable property. That helps explain how one budget can produce two very different percentages. A separate layer of park bonds, known as Built to Play, is planned to start showing up on bills in 2028.
Two percentages from the same budget
At a special meeting before its Sept. 24, 2026 open house, the City Council approved a preliminary 2027 budget, levy and capital improvement plan. Sun This Week reported the city's figures as follows.
| Measure, preliminary 2027 | City figure |
|---|---|
| Operating budget increase | 10.84% |
| Estimated tax levy increase | 9.76% |
| Levy increase from Police and Public Works Campus debt | 4.5% |
| Cumulative levy increase | 14.26% |
| Estimated median home value, 2027 | $428,000, up 2.07% |
| Increase on that median home, city operations | $83 per year |
| Increase on that median home, Police and Public Works Campus | $50 per year |
| Total increase, 2026 to 2027 | $133, an effective 8.9% |
| City tax rate | 36.1% in 2026 to 38.4% in 2027 |
The two biggest department increases were fire at 22.32% and parks and recreation at 25.44%. City Administrator Logan Martin connected the spending to growth. "If we were a built-out city we wouldn't be coming to you with much of a need to grow our operations hardly at all as taxpayers. We're not, we're growing," he said.
Why growth softens the per-home number
A city levy is a total dollar amount, and that amount is divided among all of the taxable property in the city. When new homes and commercial buildings join the tax rolls, each existing property pays a smaller share of a given total. A levy that rises 14.26% can therefore raise a typical homeowner's city tax by a smaller percentage.
When Citizen Portal summarized the Sept. 23 meeting, it reported that staff said "new construction limits homeowner impact." The city's longer-term tax rate tells the same story. The 2027 rate of 38.4% is up from 2026 but still below the 43% rate of 2016. The city attributed that to recent growth and "the effect of added taxable value."
This matters to a buyer comparing Rosemount with a built-out suburb nearby. Rosemount's spending is rising because the city is adding residents and services, and the cost of that spending is being shared across a growing base. The $133 figure is the city's estimate for one home at one value. A home assessed above or below $428,000 will see a different dollar change, and school district and county levies appear on the same statement.
The 2028 layer, and what it pays for
Built to Play is a separate financing track from the operating levy. The city calls it a $62.6 million parks and recreation package financed through Port Authority bonds. Sun This Week reported the planned work as follows.
- Central Park. A new ADA-accessible playground, a larger splash pad, sun shelters and 180 more parking spaces. Phase 1 starts in March 2027, when the Central Park Garage becomes a 5,000-square-foot community flex and rental event space with an outdoor patio.
- Two-sheet ice complex. Planned northeast of County Road 46/160th Street and Highway 3 through a land swap. The city reported design as 60% complete, said contractor bids would be requested in late fall and said initial earthwork could begin in late fall 2026.
- Two youth softball and baseball fields. Planned for the same site as the arena.
- Full-size baseball field near UMore Fields. The city's first city-owned full-size field for teen and adult players, with sports lighting.
- Playgrounds. A new playground at the Akron Avenue ballfields and updated equipment at Birch and Innisfree parks, with design starting in spring 2027.
- Erickson Park. Fields converted from adult to youth use, with accessibility, irrigation, backstop, dugout, batting cage and fencing upgrades. Brazil Avenue on-street parking moves to new lots that will be built during the Central Park remodel. Design starts in winter 2027.
The city's Built to Play StoryMap gives design and bidding milestones as of August 2026 but no opening dates.
Sun This Week also covered the cost to households. It reported that the city projected the bond repayment "would be $75 the first four years and $20 the following two years on the average value home," starting in 2028. Mayor Jeff Weisensel described the approach as spreading the cost "over six years, being able to take little bites and absorb that." Council Member Paul Theisen called it "the equivalent of $7 a month for the largest park project we've ever had at Rosemount." The published account does not give the home value behind "average value home." Treat the city's own materials as the authority on how those amounts apply to a particular property.
The published totals also differ. The open-house article describes a $73 million bond issue made up of $62.6 million for Built to Play and $14.2 million for a new fire truck and Fire Station 2 improvements. Those two parts add up to $76.8 million. The earlier article describes an industrial development district that can finance "up to $75 million" for the park projects. The city is bonding for the fire work separately.
The financing route
In May 2016, Rosemount voters rejected a $15 million bond referendum for four parks projects, which included an ice arena addition and youth baseball fields. Built to Play includes similar facilities at a much larger scale and is following a different path.
On Sept. 15, 2026, the City Council and the Port Authority approved creating Industrial Development District No. 2. According to the city, the district runs from Connemara Trail south to 160th Street, and from Highway 3 east to Akron Avenue, including an area south of Dakota County Technical College. The city said parts of that area have seen "limited or no development in recent years." Martin told Sun This Week that the district is not subject to a reverse referendum, the petition process that applied to the city's Police and Public Works Campus bonds.
The mayor connected the route to economic development. He said a new public road near the planned arena and fields would open landlocked land, and that the landowner has told the city it is interested in developing that land. This ties back to the tax mechanism above. If that land is developed, it adds to the tax base that spreads future levies.
Residents at the open house held a range of views. Supporters described the facilities as worth the cost for a growing community. One attendee told the paper she wasn't sure the city had enough restaurants and retail to support hockey rinks. Some residents also questioned why the projects did not go to a referendum.
The dates between now and a 2028 bill
- Oct. 20, 2026. The Port Authority agenda listed a public hearing and an item to establish the Industrial Development District for Built to Play. The City Council agenda listed a public hearing on establishing the district and authorizing Port Authority bonds. The city said bonds would not be sold until after the hearing, so the city's meeting records will show what happened.
- Late fall 2026. Possible initial earthwork at the ice complex site.
- Mid-November 2026. Dakota County mails proposed 2027 property tax statements.
- Dec. 1, 2026, 7 p.m. Rosemount's Truth-in-Taxation hearing on the 2027 levy.
- March 2027. Central Park Phase 1 begins.
- 2028. The first year of the projected Built to Play bond repayment.
Reading a Rosemount tax number during a purchase
Each figure answers a different question. The 2026 amount is what the current owner pays this year. The proposed statement arriving in mid-November shows the county's estimate for 2027 on that specific parcel. The Built to Play projection covers a later period and comes on top of both. Comparing Rosemount with a neighboring suburb using only the 2026 figure leaves out two scheduled changes. This post is general information, not tax or financial advice. Confirm how these numbers apply to a particular property with Dakota County, your lender or a tax professional.
A short FAQ
Does the 2027 increase include Built to Play? The city's reported 2027 figures cover operations and the Police and Public Works Campus debt. The reported Built to Play repayment begins in 2028.
Where can I see the projects? Rosemount's Built to Play StoryMap maps each site and lists each design phase.
Is the 2027 levy final? No. In September the council approved a preliminary levy ceiling and preliminary budgets, and it set a public Truth-in-Taxation hearing for Dec. 1.
If you're weighing a Rosemount sale or purchase against these 2027 and 2028 numbers, The Kent Group can help you see where a specific home's value falls compared with the $428,000 median, so the tax figures you see are tied to the right number. Request a home value and we'll walk you through it.
