Mayors across 241 Minnesota cities have signed a letter to Minnesota lawmakers, including Governor Tim Walz, demanding they address fraud and economic policies that are creating financial challenges statewide.
"With our city budgets, every dollar that is stolen in fraud is a dollar that has to be made up in taxes in some form or another," Crosslake Mayor Jackson Purfeerst says. "And you know, now it makes sense through all these years, especially the last five years, on why we have had drastic taxes go up, is maybe in part due to some of this fraud that Minnesotans have been dealing with."
Purfeerst, 25, is a first-term mayor studying International Business at the University of Minnesota.
"I would definitely say this letter is bipartisan," Purfeerst explains. "If you look at the list of mayors, and I'm not going to single out any mayor whatsoever, but we have a wide cast of mayors on there from northern Minnesota, southern Minnesota, every corner of the state, central Minnesota, Twin Cities, you know. There's a whole cast of characters on that letter, and we all understand that this is a nonpartisan, bipartisan issue, however you want to say it. Fraud is fraud and policies that are hurting Minnesotans are as nonpartisan as it gets to talk about."
The 241 mayors point to rising property taxes statewide, on average for 2026 shows cities may raise levies by up to 8.7%, with average counties up to 8.1%, according to the letter.
"As mayors, we are committed to responsible budgeting, fiscal restraint, and delivering high-quality local services. Yet there is a growing disconnect between state-level fiscal decisions and the strain they place on the cities we lead. When the state expands programs or shifts responsibilities without stable funding, it is our residents—families, seniors, businesses, and workers—who ultimately bear the cost."
Purfeerst believes more bad policies out of St. Paul will continue to drive families and businesses to other states.
"People are tired of the policies that are hurting small business, hurting the taxpayer, and making it very, very hard to live in this beautiful State of Minnesota," Purfeerst adds.
Read the entire letter here: