Bemidji City Council sets 2026 legislative priorities in work session

Bemidji city leaders started shaping their 2026 lobbying pitch Monday night, putting infrastructure funding, rental ordinances and aging municipal facilities at the center of a year that will include a state session and the city’s annual trip to the Capitol.

The City Council met at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 at City Hall, 317 4th Street NW, for a work session on 2026 legislative priorities and city initiatives. The timing was deliberate. The Minnesota Legislature was scheduled to convene Feb. 17, and Bemidji’s Day at the Capitol was set for March 5, giving council members a short runway to agree on what the city should press for in St. Paul.

Mayor Jorge Prince said the city should consider a food-and-beverage tax, potentially to support infrastructure, and he urged lawmakers to preserve local discretion over whether cities can use that tool. He also said the state’s 2026 budget situation could make policy changes more attainable than direct funding. That distinction matters for Bemidji, where city leaders have repeatedly faced the choice between asking the state for cash or asking for authority to raise revenue locally.

Rental policy was another major focus. Ward 1 Councilor Gwenia Fiskevold Gould said any ordinance review should do two things at once: help landlords invest in their properties and hold negligent landlords accountable. The discussion carried added weight in a city that has described itself as having a majority-renter population and where a Bemidji Tenants Union formed in 2025 to press for better maintenance and to help renters negotiate.

The city’s facilities needs were already part of the backdrop. In 2025, council members discussed bonding for the main fire hall and City Hall, including accessibility and air-system updates. Lakeland PBS reported that the main fire hall was built in 1970 and had never been renovated. Bemidji’s street system is also still demanding attention, with council discussion in October 2025 noting the city had nearly completed its 17th consecutive year of street renewal projects, even as staff said June 21 storm cleanup had strained summer maintenance.

Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce officials said the 2026 Day at the Capitol, now in its 19th year, was meant to strengthen the city’s relationships with legislators and their staff. That makes the council’s early work session more than routine planning. It is the first step in deciding which local problems Bemidji will take to St. Paul, and which ones will keep coming back as the year moves from budget season to bonding season.