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Ramsey County outlines 2025 funding sources as property taxes remain largest share
Summary
Ramsey County budget staff told commissioners the county’s 2025 operating budget is roughly $872 million and that property taxes are the largest single revenue source; staff described fee schedules, intergovernmental grants and planned public outreach on tax-exempt properties and county program aid.
County Budget Director Susan Earl told the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 that the county’s operating budget for 2025 is “almost $872,000,000,” and walked commissioners through the principal revenue categories that fund county operations.
Earl said charges for services (user fees such as recorder and court fees, public health charges and parks rentals) account for a meaningful share of the budget — roughly 18% — while investment and sales income and other revenues each represent smaller shares. She identified property taxes as the single largest source of funding and explained the board sets an aggregate levy amount that is then spread across taxable property values.
The presentation and commissioner questions focused on three recurring themes: (1) the cadence for reviewing and approving fees (Earl said the board reviews fee schedules as part of the biennial budget and departments must secure board approval for fee changes); (2) how intergovernmental grants are recorded (Earl confirmed pass-through grants, such as a $4 million program awarded to the county, are recorded in intergovernmental revenue and then shown on the expenditure side); and (3) the effect of tax-exempt properties on the county tax base.
On tax-exempt properties, commissioners asked whether staff could quantify the revenue that would be collected if certain state, nonprofit or institutional properties were taxable. Earl and staff said the assessor is conducting an internal exercise and that an internal working group (assessor’s office, finance, policy and planning) will bring a workshop in the fall or early winter that will present options and estimates related to PILT (payments in lieu of taxes) and county program aid (CPA).
Commissioners also discussed the need for clearer public-facing visuals to explain how the levy translates into individual property bills and asked staff to incorporate program-level breakdowns in budget outreach. Earl pointed commissioners to the budget book and the county’s open-data portal for detailed program-level reports and said staff will prepare fee and program summaries as part of the manager’s forthcoming budget package.
The board did not take a final levy action at the meeting; staff said more detailed budget hearings and department presentations are scheduled in coming weeks.
