The Budget Committee of the Whole convened at 1:02 PM on September 16, 2025, to review the proposed 2026–27 biennial budget for the Information and Public Records (IPR) Service Team. Presentations covered the Office of IPR, Enterprise and Administrative Services, Information Services, County Assessor, Property Tax Records and Election Services (Petris), and Communications and Public Relations. No public comments were received. The board heard presentations and asked questions; no votes were taken. The next public hearing is scheduled for September 22, 2025, at 5:00 PM, with the board setting the maximum 2026 property tax levy on September 23, 2025.
Office of Information and Public Records
Enterprise and Administrative Services (EAS)
Information Services
County Assessor’s Office
Property Tax Records and Election Services (Petris)
Communications and Public Relations
One. So we're gonna begin the twenty twenty six biannual budget hearing on September the sixteenth, twenty twenty-five at one oh two. So on September the second, we heard from County Manager Becker, who provided an overview of the twenty twenty-four twenty-five proposed budget. Meetings with service teams on their twenty twenty-six twenty-seven budget are taking place from September the fifteenth, and we'll go through September the twenty-second. The full meeting schedule is available on our public website at Brampton County dot us. Each department director will present details on their department's priorities and proposed budget, including an overview of major changes and a discussion on how the county's values and the county manager priorities are reflected in their budget. After each presentation, I will open up the floor for any questions and discuss discussion by the county board. The county board encouraged resident participation in the budget process. We want to hear your voices. Two public hearings are scheduled. Both public hearings will be held in this building, and free parking will be provided to residents who attend in person. And in order to find out the location of the parking venues, you can go to Ramsey County.us. Residents are also welcome to submit written comments at any time. All written comments received are shared with each commissioner. Written comments are considered as carefully as comments were as comments made verbally in a public hearing. You can sign up to comment at a hearing as well as submit written comments. And again, go to Ramsey County.us website. So the first public hearing will be held on Monday, September the 22nd at 5 p.m. On Tuesday, September the 23rd, the board will set the 2026 maximum property tax levy. The second public hearing will be held on Thursday, December the 11th at 6 p.m. Prior to that hearing, residents and business will receive their proposed property tax statement. This will include details on a proposed levy for all the taxing jurisdictions, the county, the city, the school board, and others, and provide detail on these proposals impact your property. Resident and business owners should look for that information in the mail in mid to late November. At a board meeting in November, the board will discuss changes, if any, to the 2026-27 requested by boards member. On Tuesday, December the 16th, the County Board will give final approval of the 2026-27 budget, including any changes approved by the committee, and set the final 2026 property tax levy, and that would happen on Tuesday, December the 16th. And so with that, we have and some opening comments by Deputy County Manager Kieran Francois. Welcome. Commissioners, County Manager Becker, CFO Kutza, members of the public and staff. I'm Karen Francois. I'm the Deputy County Manager for the Information and Public Records Service Team. Thank you for the opportunity to be here today to present this proposed 26-27 budget. As County Manager Becker referred to in her proposed budget presentation, this is scheduled to be the final biennial budget for this service team in its current configuration. At the end of the year, the IPR service team will sunset, and most departments will transition into new homes within the organization beginning January 1st, 2026. So before I continue, I want to take a moment to thank the team that has walked with me on this journey. To the department heads and the staff across IPR, thank you. Together, we've modernized IPR, we've transformed our technology backbone, we've redesigned service centers to meet people where they are. We've handled the complex behind the scenes work that keeps this county running, and we've done it with shared commitment. Even as we move into new organizational homes, I look forward to continued collaboration, support, and friendship, even if we're working from different places in the organization, because at the end of the day, we're still one Ramsey County. And I couldn't be more grateful to each of you. In 2026, I'll be working with a new service team that includes financial assistance services, veteran services, housing stability, workforce solutions, and administration. I'm excited to step into this new space alongside exceptional leaders and staff to support and sustain some of the most critical work we do as a county. This transition is also an opportunity for the organization as a whole to further move beyond service team silos and toward functional area collaboration. We're moving from structure to strategy, from alignment by org chart to alignment by shared purpose. That's, after all, what One Ramsey County is truly about. It's not just about who reports where, it's about how we show up for each other and for the people we serve. It's about lifting each other up, sharing ownership, and staying focused on outcomes that matter. This proposed budget reflects the transformation we've been navigating for just about the past year, including structural realignment, decentralization of internal services, and the planned conclusion of a department that was created to address critical needs at the time, including strengthening service delivery and providing centralized project management support. This year's budget process came with an unexpected challenge. Part way through, we had to transition our controller. Thank you both for your steady leadership throughout this process.