Stearns County Proposed 2024 Budget A Mixed Bag

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Stearns County administration has presented the 2024 preliminary budget to the board of commissioners. It's a combination of good news and bad news.

The good news is that the county's tax base is going up by 10.36%, but your home valuations are expected to go up 8% on average.

Staff is proposing a spending increase of 1.82% resulting in a levy increase of about 2 1/2%. It means if you have a home valued at $239,630, then your taxes would go up by $14.70 for the year.

The tax capacity increase of 10.36% is due to new construction and the decertification of some TIF Districts. As a result, the tax rate would decrease by more than 7.14%.

The preliminary budget is expected to be adopted at the November 28th meeting.