Ramsey County Board approves 2024-25 budget
Today, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the 2024-2025 county budget. The budget was developed with a resident-centric focus by incorporating key learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic and extensive community feedback.
“I am proud of the work that went into the passage of today’s budget. The 2024-2025 budget was created through a year-long process that involved feedback from my fellow board colleagues, county staff, partners, and community,” said Ramsey County Board Chair Trista Martinson. “The ongoing needs of community post pandemic and impact this budget would have on families was carefully considered with the final product being an investment in our vision, values and strategic priorities.”
On Aug. 22, Ramsey County Manager Ryan O’Connor presented the proposed 2024-25 biennial budget to the county Board of Commissioners. Additionally, Ramsey County held a series of budget presentations in September and provided opportunity for community to share feedback through public meetings, phone calls, emails and online forms. Community meetings were held in-person and in a virtual format with interpreters included to increase the accessibility to community members.
The county’s approved budget for 2024 totals $808,498,799 which represents a 2.9% overall budget increase from 2023. The 6.75% levy increase for 2024 was driven by a shift away from federal and state one-time resources that were available during the emergency pandemic. The approved budget for 2025 totals $835,076,779, with an 3.3% budget increase from 2024 and a maximum 4.75% levy increase that is proposed to be reduced once estimates for future cannabis sales tax revenue can be incorporated.
“Today’s budget approval marks a pivotal moment in our community’s journey,” said Ramsey County Commissioner and Budget Chair Victoria Reinhardt. “The 2024-2025 budget addresses challenges presented by the pandemic and positions the county for a future that is more equitable and sustainable.”
The 2024 budget was mitigated by a $6 million increase in county program aid from the State of Minnesota. This increased state aid provided a 1.76% levy decrease from initial budget planning targets and helped keep the county’s long term levy growth at a more moderate level. Looking at the period of 2015-2025, the annual average levy growth to Ramsey County taxpayers was 3.3% and from 2021-2025 (COVID era) the annual average levy growth was 3.5%.
During the pandemic, the county intentionally kept its property tax growth low by leveraging one-time federal relief dollars making more than $20 million in operational cuts and managing minimal operating budget increases. All of this was done while transforming service delivery to meet evolving community needs during a moment of historical significance. While not meant to be long-term budget solutions, Ramsey County made these strategic decisions during unprecedented economic times to offer additional support and relief to residents.
Investing in people, partnerships and service delivery
The 2024-25 biennial budget invests in both those served by the county and those providing services to the residents, businesses and visitors of Ramsey County. This includes making key investments in attracting and retaining top talent to work at the county to provide stellar service to residents. This also means investing in residents and businesses to meet the needs of the community and engaging and building trusting relationships with community to support healthy and safe communities for all.
This budget reflects the need to modernize systems to improve client access and service and deepen partnerships and collaborations with other agencies, organizations and community. Continued investments are being made in power sharing and co-creation including work on bail reform, non-public safety traffic stops and the Appropriate Responses Initiative to name a few.
This budget also focuses on continuing to enhance service delivery and particularly finding the gaps and overlaps in how services are provided and increasing accessibility. Investments are focused on how the county rethinks its usage of space and technology and opportunities to collaborate with community. An excellent example of this is Ramsey County’s ongoing investment into its Service Centers. Located in Maplewood (inside the mall), Roseville (inside the Library) and Metro Square (downtown near light rail/major bus lines), each offers public access computers, free Wi-Fi and a team of navigators equipped with information and resources to connect residents with all the services and resources the county has to offer in one location.
Link to Dec. 12 County Board Meeting video
Learn more about the 2024-25 biennial budget process