A blanket party in the military referred to throwing a blanket over someone’s head so they couldn’t see what was coming next or who it was coming from. Meeker County is taking hits from all angles when it comes to state budgetary shifts, feeling like a blanket party minus the blanket!
When the Governor’s office released the projected budget back in early February, the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) immediately took notice and broke out the red pen; a large portion of the red ink was falling on county spreadsheets. When I was elected to the Meeker County board back in the fall of 2018, Meeker’s 10-year levy average was 3.1%; in the years since I’ve been on the board we are averaging 2.9%. I have spent more time in budget discussions in the last four months than I have in the last six years combined, and we are not finding the State of Minnesota as a willing partner in these discussions even though counties are being asked to carry the load. I was an AMC representative at the Governor’s State of the State address in April when it was made clear there will be no adjustment to the services the state is mandating counties to deliver, and no funds to go with the list of mandates. The Senate and House versions of the state budget haven’t left county government or our red-headed stepchild in this, private and public schools, feeling any better.
Meeker County has run several scenarios of the several revisions and options we have been given as this budget battle plays out: our projected levy increases range from 7% to 9% annually for 2026 and 2027, and then it gets worse after that. We have utilized AMC as a resource to argue adjustments that drastically reduce county property tax increases, but there seems to be little interest in compromise. I was elected to serve on the AMC executive committee this past December and have been in face-to-face meetings with the governor, and leaders of the House and Senate from both parties; we are not seeing or hearing much give in St Paul. If they are willing to give, they don’t have the votes. There are 447 County Commissioners in the state, and you will be hard-pressed to find one that is accepting of these cost shifts to counties.
The problem stems from having the votes in 2024 to pass legislation, we will worry about funding in 2025, and they go into law in 2026. Whoops, we don’t have enough money for all this stuff we put on the wish list! Strong state leadership would have recognized the problem and made the adjustments, keeping local government units’ integrity intact, but instead we blame the federal government for these new costs that we created, and hand the invoice to the counties and schools. Like I stated, a blanket party without the blanket.
An example of one new legislative adjustment to be made in Meeker County, with a newly estimated price tag to the county of $500,000 is a service that our Health and Human Services department already provides quite well in the status quo. The new law will require us to spend $450,000 in just reporting back to the state, with zero impact to the public we are serving. This new law will require 90% of the tax revenue increase to be spent on paperwork and the employees to do it, while 10% will actually be utilized to help residents. Meeker County can provide this service far more effectively than the state could dream of. I find it hard to pass this cost on to our property owners. Bear in mind that this is just one example.
Why am I telling you all of this? If you haven’t visited with your local legislator lately, or ever, now would be not only a good time, but it is imperative that you take the time to have a conversation with as many as you can, and let them know that the long list of cost shifts will cause property tax increases that none of us have seen in decades in Meeker County.
It is not the county government’s responsibility to clean up the state’s inept budgeting issues. Period. Your voices matter as we head into the final weeks of the session. Please join the 87 counties of AMC and make your voice heard in St. Paul. No cost shifts to counties and schools!
I can be reached at (320) 333-0655, or by email at steve.schmitt@co.meeker.mn.us. Do not hesitate to reach out! Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and your communities.
Steve Schmitt of Eden Valley District 5, Meeker County Board of Commissioners