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Goodhue County adopts 2025 fee schedule, including new cannabis registration fees
Summary
The Goodhue County Board approved a 2025 fee schedule effective Jan. 1, 2025, after a brief public hearing with no public comment. Commissioners debated whether to update long-unchanged fees or continue relying on the property tax levy.
The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt a proposed 2025 fee schedule, including new fees to cover county responsibilities for cannabis registrations, with the schedule set to take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Taxpayer and finance staff presented the proposed schedule and recommended adoption after a departmental review. The board opened a public hearing; no members of the public spoke and the hearing was closed. During discussion, one commissioner reviewed when fees were last changed across line items and said: "There were 78 fees that were last changed between 2010 and 2019" and noted many fees have not been updated since the 2000s.
Finance staff cautioned that several fees are limited by statute and that small dollar fees produce limited revenue; as an example a finance staffer said the county has charged $3 for a duplicate tax statement since 2005. The staff presentation explained that management reviews fees annually and that some new fees — such as cannabis registration fees — will be part of the 2025 schedule.
Why it matters: Commissioners framed the vote as both a housekeeping requirement and a policy choice about whether to rely on property tax levy increases or to adjust more fees to cover service costs. The board discussed whether to adopt a fee philosophy (indexing to CPI or phased percentage increases for long-unchanged fees) and instructed staff to take those options under advisement for future reviews.
The fee schedule was approved by voice vote. Finance staff said they will continue to review fees department by department and provide more detailed revenue impact analyses in future budget cycles.
Next steps: The 2025 fee schedule goes into effect Jan. 1, 2025; staff will continue a department‑level review of fees and report back on revenue implications and statutory constraints.
