MANKATO September 11, 2012 (KMKO) – The Mankato City Council has approved a 2013 maximum property tax levy increase of 2.63%.  The council voted 6-1 in favor of the hike. The general fund levy for next year is $9,434,750.   The Mankato City Council can lower but not raise the preliminary property tax levy.  In other business, a shared human resource contract between the city of Mankato and Blue Earth County has been approved by the city council.  Mankato has provided human resource services for the county since 1998.  But since the county would like increase services, the cost per year has increased to over $112,000 a year.