WILLMAR - The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners certified the proposed 2015 levy and budget on Tuesday.
The gross levy of $31,568,000 is a 2.3 percent increase.
Once County Program Aid from the state is applied, the county’s net levy will be $29,833,483, which is a 2.8 percent increase from 2014.
The difference is because the county will receive $110,000 less in state aid next year than in 2014.
The county received $1,845,089 in county program aid this year.
Next year the county will receive $1,734,517 in aid from the state.
County Administrator Larry Kleindl said the county’s strong agricultural land prices have increased local property values, which has reduced the state aid.
The budget includes funding improvements to facilities, technology, equipment and vehicles that were held back “when the economy was in tough shape,” Kleindl said.
During that time the county was “getting by” by delaying purchases such as squad cars and snowplows.
“We got behind,” Kleindl said.
He said the 2015 budget preserves the county’s strong fund balance and also plans for the future by budgeting for future improvements, such as improving shelters at county parks and adding a leachate treatment system at the landfill.
Commissioner Dean Shuck said during the last six years, the county has kept the budget and levy “pretty flat.”
Commissioner Roger Imdieke said considering the past budget cycles, the 2015 proposed budget was “a reasonable request.”
The county set its required truth-in-taxation hearing for 6 p.m. Dec. 4 when the public can be heard regarding the property tax levy and the budget.
Between now and the end of December, the county’s levy can be decreased but cannot be increased.
The commissioners also approved the proposed levy of $580,000 for the Kandiyohi County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which will be a newly merged entity of the county and city of Willmar in January.
The proposed levy is an increase of $253,768 over this year.
“It’s painful for me to ask for this big jump,” said HRA Director Jill Bengtson. “This is a hard thing for me to swallow.”
She acknowledged that the large levy increase would also not be “easy” for the board to approve, but the commissioners were quick to say that they understand the budget and levy reflects the short-term transition costs of creating a new county-wide HRA.
About $120,000 of the increase was attributed to the current cost of merging the two county and city organizations together, said Bengtson.
“That’s a big chunk out of our operating money,” she said.
Commissioner Harlan Madsen said the money spent on the merger is an investment in a process to improve customer service and it is the “right thing to do” and in the “best interest of our region.”
The process to merge two separate HRAs into one has “never been done on this scale” in Minnesota before, Bengtson said.
She said the HRA budget also reflects cuts in federal funding that average about $25,000 a year for the past three years. The HRA has used reserves, has frozen wages and has delayed filling vacancies to fill that federal funding gap, she said.
The commissioners also approved a proposed tax levy of $465,000 for the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission.
The levy reflects a 2 percent increase from 2014.
The increase is because the EDC has earmarked $35,000 as a local match for a federal grant being sought to build a railroad connection west of Willmar so that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway trains can bypass the city.
EDC Director Steve Renquist said if the federal grant is not approved, the $35,000 allocation will be removed from the EDC budget and the 2015 levy will remain the same as this year.
The proposed 2015 budget does not include a salary increase for Renquist.
He told the commissioners that the budget includes a small salary increase for the other two staff people but he is not seeking an increase for himself.
