Capital & Operating Budget

Award Winning Financial Excellence

On December 11, 2012, the County Board unanimously adopted its budget for 2013, in the amount of $311,536,514. (View an overview of the budget.) Of that, $111,669,173 comes from property taxes. That is the amount the Board set as the maximum property tax levy for 2013 at a meeting in September 2012. The levy represents a 1.5% increase over the adopted 2012 budget, and reflects the Board's commitment to fiscal stewardship and long-term stability, coupled with a continued sensitivity to levy impacts on our citizens and taxpayers. While the challenges of addressing reduced state aid and increased costs of services are real, the levy is significantly below the rate of inflation for the fourth consecutive year.  In addition, we continue to focus on key investment, collaboration and business improvement themes that best position the County into the future. 

The operating budget allows the County to carry out its mission and deliver high quality yet efficient services to citizens in the areas of planning and zoning, land and minerals management, solid waste and recycling, public works, health, human services, criminal justice, community development and general government services.

The budget process provides the County Board and its management staff an opportunity to annually reexamine the services provided within the county. It is a lengthy and comprehensive process that begins early each year.

2013-2017 Capital Improvement Plan Amendment

Each year, as an integral part of its annual budget process, St. Louis County updates its Capital Improvement Program plan.  The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a plan that matches the county's major capital needs regarding long-term physical asset development with the financial ability to meet these needs in a manner that attempts to better ensure the effective and efficient provision of government services and operations while maintaining a strong county infrastructure.  The county's CIP identifies projects that have been designed to support existing or projected needs in the following areas:  transportation infrastructure (road and bridges), county facilities, land improvement/development/acquisition, equipment purchases, and technology.

State Auditor Performance Reporting

In June 2011 the County Board adopted the standard set of county government performance measures proposed by the Minnesota State Auditor’s Performance Measurement Program. Created by the Minnesota State Legislature's Council on Local Results, this is a standard set of ten performance measures for counties and ten performance measures for cities that will aid residents, taxpayers and state and local officials in determining the efficacy of counties and cities in providing services, and measure residents' opinions of those services. Cities and counties that choose to participate in the new standards measure program may be eligible for a reimbursement in Local Government Aid, and exemption from levy limits.

Participation in the Minnesota State Auditor’s Performance Measures Program is voluntary; however, St. Louis County is well positioned to participate by virtue of its continued efforts in performance measurement and citizen surveys. Counties that choose to participate must officially adopt the corresponding 10 performance benchmarks developed by the Council, and report on them in order to receive a new local government performance aid, reimbursed at $0.14 per capita, not to exceed $25,000. 

For more information, view St. Louis County's 2012 Report.

For more information about the State Auditor's Performance Measurement Program visit: http://www.auditor.state.mn.us/default.aspx?page=20110525.013