Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Residents urge audits and object to levy increase during Stearns County budget hearing
Summary
At a Truth‑in‑Budgeting hearing, county staff presented a draft 2026 budget; public commenters repeatedly called for audits of health and human services spending and election procedures and voiced strong opposition to proposed levy increases and the planned Justice Center bond.
Stearns County opened its required Truth‑in‑Budgeting hearing Dec. 2 and received more than a dozen public comments on the proposed 2026 budget and levy.
Staff presented budget highlights: a proposed total budget of roughly $212 million, a levy increase driven by human services and road construction, a $1 million contingency for state and federal uncertainty in human services programs and a $1.7 million reduction in the debt levy to reserve capacity for the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
