DULUTH — City councilors didn’t deliver the fiscally conservative property tax proposal Monday night that Mayor Roger Reinert initially sought, but they pledged to work with his administration toward a budget that holds the municipal levy in check. Reinert had proposed a 4.13% increase in next year’s levy, with 1.43% of that margin offset by the growing value of Duluth’s property tax base, largely due to new construction. “The max levy we set today does not necessarily have to be the levy we vote on come December,” she said. ADVERTISEMENTThe amendment calling for the city to authorize up to an additional 1% in the levy increase, beyond what Reinert had proposed, narrowly passed 5-4. The resolution could allow for the council to increase the 2026 levy by nearly $2.23 million above what Duluth collected in property taxes this year.