Staff report

The Washington County Board of commissioners was expected to pass the county 2021 budget this week, at its meeting set for Dec. 15.

The budget revenue is projected under the plan at $288,516,400.

Where does that money come from. It comes from your property tax dollars, as well as state and federal agencies.

Here’s a rundown supplied by the county on revenue sources: Property Taxes ($116.4M) is the amount that is collected from property owners to support the county budget ($114.5M), the Land & Water Legacy Program ($1.2M), and the Regional Rail budget ($660,000).

Intergovernmental Revenues ($80.3M) are funds received from the state, federal, or cities governments for specific projects or programs.

Fees for Services ($16.2M) are revenues generated from charges for services the county provides.

Miscellaneous Revenues ($14.1M) are those not accounted for in other categories, such as interest earnings on the county’s investments, rent revenues, collections from accounts due the county, donations and contributions, and revenues received from fines and penalties imposed for statutory offenses.

Other Taxes ($24.9M) consist of delinquent tax collections, mobile home taxes, mortgage registry taxes, gravel taxes, wheelage tax, and all cost, penalty, and interest assessed in the collection of taxes.

County Program Aid ($11.5M) is general purpose aid given to the county by the State of Minnesota and is intended to reduce property taxes for individual taxpayers.

Licenses & Permits ($5.2M) are revenues from all businesses and occupations which are licensed to do business in the county.

Other Financing Sources ($19.9M) includes use of bond proceeds, planned use of fund balance, and loan receipts.

Expenditures

Expenditures in the balanced budget are also set at $288,516,400. Here’s how the money is spent: Health & Community Services ($67.6M) – Costs of emergency preparedness, household hazardous waste, child protection, social services, veterans’ services, job training, and food and medical care for people in need.

Streets & Highways ($78.4M) – Costs of maintenance and repair of local highways, streets, bridges, and road construction. Also includes capital road and bridge projects funded through bond proceeds.

Public Safety ($59.1M) – Costs to protect persons and property, combining Sheriff, Corrections, and Attorney.

General Government ($48.0M) – Administrative costs of county government, including Administration, Accounting & Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Property Records & Taxation, and Building Services.

Debt Service ($15.9M) – Principal payments on bonded debt, as well as interest and fiscal charges.

Culture & Recreation ($15.1M) – Costs of Libraries, Parks, and the county’s Land and Water Legacy Program.

Other Capital Outlay ($4.4M) – Major capital improvements to county facilities, such as roof replacements, and cooling and heating upgrades.

Taxes

To support the county budget, the county portion of the tax on a home of median value ($307,500) would is projected at $828.