Tensions surfaced at Wednesday’s city council meeting as proposed 2026 budget cuts came into question.
“This was probably the most difficult budget I have ever seen in my tenure as mayor. We’ve never had to cut this large of an amount before,” said Andrea Zupancich, “I don’t think any of the departments love us at the moment.”
The library is among those programs that could face a major loss of financial bandwidth in the coming year.
“(The library) is a necessary public service which shouldn’t even be considered to be cut,” said staff member Sharon Gresly, “You want new families to move to Babbitt, go to school, pay taxes. Why should they move here if the city can’t even keep the library open?”
According to director Lisa Pennala, the library brought in 4,958 visitors from January to August of this year, checked out 5,926 books and opened 50 new library cards.
“Our budget is already stretched to the limit,” Pennala said, “Our community deserves a library that is open, staffed and fully functioning, not forced to struggle just to keep the doors open.”
Zupancich says the cuts come as Babbitt faces a decrease in benefits from the taconite production tax and from state-level Local Government Aid funding.
“At what point do you cut services? At what point do you start laying people off? What are your essentials? These were all really tough decisions we had to make. And this isn’t anything we like doing,” Zupancich said.
“In my 26 years on the council, I’ve never seen it like this. This was a son of a gun, I’ll tell you. We had a total budget request of $1.262 million more than our income. So we met for seven and a half hours one day, and we went over the budget, line item by line item,” said Jim Lassi, “We were still half a million dollars short. Your options are to raise taxes or cut programs.”
The council proposes a 15.5% levy for Babbitt residents, which council member Duane Lossing says is still a low rate compared to other regional communities.
The council tabled the budget approval vote for a special session next week in order to accommodate further public input.
“I really want to encourage the public to reach out to the councilors via email, social media or the office to (tell us) what’s important to you,” said Zupancich.
The city must submit a final proposal to the state before Sept. 30. In addition, the council approved the establishment of a school forest on 70 acres behind Northeast Range High School. Following designation by the DNR, the arrangement will involve a joint powers agreement between the school district and the city, who would still own the land.
“School forests offer our kids the opportunity to get outside and be more active,” said Northeast Range school principal John Vukmanich.
He lists a number of potential forest- based learning opportunities for students, touching on topics as broad as wildlife biology, outdoor stewardship, construction of temporary shelters, Ojibwe cultural practices, compass orienteering, photography, timber harvesting, wetlands education and snowshoeing.
“We would love to have a place to do more outdoor adventures,” Vukmanich said.
The district may construct a small gazebo on the land and establish walking trails around the property.
Furthermore, the council will move forward with remediation efforts for moisture issues in the Municipal Center. Insurance will cover the costs, says administrative assistant Kirsten Traut.
As determined by an inspector, the problems stem from drainage issues due to roof architecture, an ineffective gutter system and a problematic grade around the building which results in poor drainage that seeps into the walls.
“We need to mitigate this immediately, and then we need to do a reconstruction,” said Lassi.
In other business, the council:
• Filled an open spot on the planning commission, which will now be held by Chad Rasmussen until the end of the year
• Tabled a discussion on West Babbitt lot covenants, pending further input from the planning commission
• Accepted a resignation from Matt Bock from the Recreation Department
• Hired Joshua Donahue to the Fire Department
