Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole - September 15, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole - September 15, 2025
The Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole met on September 15, 2025, at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers. The meeting focused on the proposed 2026-27 biennial budget, which includes a levy increase of 9.75% in 2026 and 7.5% in 2027. Presentations were made by the Strategic Service Team, Finance, Human Resources, County Manager's Office, and others, covering organizational alignment, department budgets, fee schedules, debt management, and capital improvements. No votes were taken; the board will set the maximum tax levy on September 23, 2025, and final approval is scheduled for December 16, 2025.
Strategic Service Team Presentation
- Chief Financial Officer Alex Kutza provided an overview of the budget process and highlighted investments in foundational excellence, including the new ERP system (Workday). The proposed budget operationalizes prior foundational investments.
- Deputy County Manager Joanna Berg presented organizational alignment changes, effective January 2026, creating two new service teams: County Operations (led by a new COO) and Community Services and Support. Five administrative director positions are added across service teams.
- Commissioners questioned the structural changes, reporting lines (e.g., CFO will report to COO rather than county manager), and the need for additional management layers. A visual org chart was requested.
Finance Department Budget
- CFO Kutza presented the finance department budget (page 57), which includes four new positions (IT contract lead, budget analyst, accountant, and supplies contract lead) and operationalizes 8 FTEs from prior foundational investments (purchasing, grants, treasury).
- Revenue: The department recognizes an additional $1 million from a new fee on investment income, aligning with best practices. A $100,000 investment for an indirect cost plan review and $100,000 for the CERT small business program were also noted.
- Discussion included delays in paying community vendors, FTE discrepancies from prior budgets, and the role of the new grants office. Commissioner Zhang noted prior budget items (e.g., comp/class) still lacking progress.
Human Resources Budget
- Chief HR Officer Patience Ferguson and interim CHRO Kristen Schultz presented the HR budget (page 70). Major changes include 8 new positions (4 in 2026, 4 in 2027) to support benefits transformation, Minnesota Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) administration, compensation and classification maintenance, and a learning and development strategy.
- HR is reorganizing leadership; all vacancies expected to be filled soon. The PFML program starts January 1, 2026; a recommendation on state vs. private administration will come in October 2025.
- Commissioners questioned the rationale for new FTEs given prior investments, the impact of PFML on 24/7 services, and the need for consistent performance evaluations and employee feedback mechanisms. A follow-up chart on FTE history was promised.
County Manager's Office Budget
- Chief of Staff Maria Sarabia presented the county manager's office budget (page 44), reflecting organizational alignment. Key changes include the transfer of compliance/ethics, policy/administrative strategy, government/community relations, and communications functions.
- Investments include an additional FTE for compliance (data practices), two FTEs for countywide evaluation efforts, an American Indian Coordinator, and racial/health equity administrators to work across service teams.
- Discussion focused on the new community relations position, the role of compliance in risk mitigation, and the placement of the American Indian Coordinator within the policy team.
County Board Budget
- Budget Analyst Bianca Poussini presented the county board budget (pages 29-36). No new FTEs; increases due to settled contracts, classification/compensation changes, and a new allocation for commissioner responsibilities and constituent innovation.
Addenda and Fee Schedule
- Bianca Poussini presented the September addenda, which corrects technical errors in FTE counts and alignments without changing the levy. The proposed 2026-27 fee schedule (70 pages) was distributed; changes are highlighted in yellow. No line-by-line review was conducted.
- Commissioner Jefferson requested revenue impact data for fee changes.
Debt Budget and Bond Financing
- Treasurer Jeanette Boyd-Kania presented the debt budget (pages 107-114). The county plans to issue $31.5 million in bonds for 2026, including $12 million for the ERP system. The debt levy increases 5% annually. Ramsey County maintains a AAA credit rating.
- Outstanding debt as of December 31, 2024 was $231.2 million. Discussion included the impact of federal tax-exempt bond preservation, capacity to leverage debt, and the 5% levy increase strategy.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
- Bianca Poussini presented the 2026-27 CIP budget (pages 559-583), totaling approximately $260 million in 2026 funding sources. The CIP process involved the Capital Improvement Program Advisory Committee (CPAC), which reviewed projects. The county manager's recommendations modified CPAC's suggestions, including converting an energy savings program to an internal loan and adding the Beaver Lake project.
- Discussion highlighted the difference between capital and operating funds, the need for legislative funding opportunities, and the ERP project as a major investment.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken during the meeting. The board will continue budget hearings through September 22, 2025.
- The first public hearing on the budget is scheduled for September 22, 2025, at 5 p.m.
- The board will set the maximum property tax levy on September 23, 2025.
- A second public hearing will be held December 11, 2025, at 6 p.m., with final levy approval on December 16, 2025.
- Written comments can be submitted via the Ramsey County website.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. We're going to call the Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole to Order. No vocal. Okay. So everyone, uh, thank you for joining us for those who are in the public. Thank you for joining us. A quick highlight on September the 2nd, we heard from County Manager Becker, who provided an overview of the 2024-25 proposed budget. The proposed 2026-27 budget calls for a levy increase of 9.75% in 2026 and 7.5% in 2027. Meetings with serving teams on this 2026-27 budget starts today. September the 15th and goes through September the 22nd. The full meeting schedule is available on our public website, Ramsey County.us. Today we'll hear from the strategic team covering operational alignment and the operating budget for finance, human services, the county manager office, and the county board. We're then here about the administrative addendum and fee schedule, the debt budget, and the capital improvement plan. Each department director will present details on their department priorities and proposed budget, including an overview of major changes and a discussion of how the county values and the county manager Becker's priorities are reflected in their budget. After each presentation, I will open up the floor for any questions and discussion by the county board. The county board encourages resident participation in the budget process.us website. County, city, school board, and others as provide and provide details on how these proposals impact your property. And again, the final tax levy will be approved on Tuesday, December to 16th. So keep that in mind, public. Keep that in mind, residents. If you have any comments, please show up for the public hearings. Please send us emails, written statements, and we will listen and read and provide feedback to you at that time. So with that, we're gonna open it up to Alex. Okay, we have a question here. Just a quick question, maybe the kind of manager could close little people park. Yeah, um, thank you, Madam Chair Commissioner. That's a good question. Um, our free parking is offered at Victory Ramp, and we'll make sure to include the address in the closing statements today. Great okay. Thank you, Madam Chair, thank you, Commissioners. Um, good afternoon. My name is Alex Kutza. I am the chief financial officer for the county, and I am here today with the honor of representing the strategic team and um leaders and introducing our budget. It is, as uh Chair Moran said, it's the first of many budget hearings, but I'm the lucky one who gets to go first, representing our team. So, as a team, we have been working for many months to bring this budget together. We have many new leaders in this area, and they've worked hard to learn and influence the 26-27 budget. In the strategic team, we do work that is the foundation of the work that the rest of the county does. We ensure that the rest of the county is can easily serve our residents by doing what they do, and we do what we are best at. This includes things like hiring, paying bills, setting policy, improving our work through audits, contracting, investigations, and recruiting top talent to the county. This work supports excellence in our operations across the county, and it's work that supports our residents, ensures all staff can focus on the work they do every day to serve our community. I want to take a moment to provide some historical context that you will hear more about today. In the 2223 and 2425 budget, there were significant investments made in foundational excellence. That's what they called it in both of those budgets. If you go back into those narratives, you can find more about that. Um, these investments supported our work and were kind of a precursor to the operational excellence that you see as a priority in this budget. Throughout the human resources finance and county manager budget presentations, you will hear about this because we are operationalizing the work in the 206-27 budget. And this includes the investments that were made in prior years include creation of the audit team and compliance, creation of the grants team and finance, investments and staff to support the purchasing and contracting transformation efforts, investments in the treasury team within finance, payroll support in our HR department, data compliance, and ADA investments. These investments got us to today, and they've helped ensure that we do the necessary work of the county. Today we'll hear more about this as these are being presented, and you will also hear about how we're building on these investments as one Ramsey County to ensure we continue to be excellent in our support of resident-facing work in this county. I want to make sure I take a moment to highlight our investment in our new ERP system workday.
openpublica.com