Budget Committee of the Whole: Information and Public Records Service Team Budget Hearing - September 16, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Budget Committee of the Whole: Information and Public Records Service Team Budget Hearing - September 16, 2025
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.
Discussion Items
Office of Information and Public Records
- Deputy County Manager Kieran Francois presented the final biennial budget for IPR, which will sunset at year-end. The office’s operating budget decreases by 66%, from over $4.2 million in 2025 to $1.45 million in 2026 and $1.5 million in 2027, reflecting decentralization of internal service costs.
- FTEs increase from 7 (2025) to 13 (2026) due to transfers: 6 positions from the capability team (moving from Petris) and 1 administrative position from Enterprise and Administrative Services. Commissioners questioned the accounting methods for decentralization and the alignment of org charts with the proposed reorganization.
Enterprise and Administrative Services (EAS)
- EAS will sunset at end of 2025. Key changes: $4.6 million in levy moved to Financial Assistance Services for 34 FTEs already transitioned; elimination of 14 FTEs from the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) and administrative services, generating over $1 million in levy savings. One administrative position transfers to the Office of IPR.
- Commissioners noted the cost savings and asked about oversight of decentralized project management responsibilities. Francois confirmed that departments will manage their own projects and vendor relationships.
Information Services
- Chief Information Officer Chaitanya Ganatra presented the IS budget, emphasizing strategic investments in cybersecurity, network reliability, and data management. Major changes: $500,000 from IS fund balance to offset rate increases in 2026; $550,000 reduction in outside consulting services in 2027; $1.3 million pass-through for countywide software maintenance offset by departmental revenue.
- New data management team launched. IS is collaborating with Financial Assistance Services to stabilize the case file management system, improving uptime. Partnership with MNIT to share cybersecurity threat intelligence with all Ramsey County municipalities. The Raven AI chatbot (initially English and Spanish) is being evaluated for expansion; languages like Hmong and Karen are not yet supported due to translation limitations.
- Commissioners raised questions about working with municipalities on cybersecurity (e.g., regional security operations center) and the impact of consulting cuts. Ganatra stated that the cuts will slow some projects but will be managed through automation and internships. He noted that laptop replacement costs are hitting the county due to the four-year cycle from pandemic purchases.
County Assessor’s Office
- Director Pat Chapman presented the budget for the County Assessor, responsible for valuing over 167,000 parcels. Major changes are limited to classification/compensation adjustments and internal fee allocations. A new online homestead application will launch soon.
- Chapman promoted the state’s Property Tax Refund (PTR) program, noting that $25–30 million goes unclaimed annually. The board discussed efforts to make the refund automatic through legislative change. The county is updating its website and property tax statement mailers to include PTR information.
- The office partnered with Mapping Prejudice and the Justice Coalition to discharge racial covenants; in Falcon Heights, outreach to over 1,000 properties led to successful covenant removals.
Property Tax Records and Election Services (Petris)
- Director Tracy West presented Petris’s budget, highlighting three themes: preparing for increased elections in 2026, adjusting fees to reflect true costs, and strengthening partnerships. Recording revenue has declined (from over $1 million in 2019–20 to about half that) due to high mortgage interest rates. The budget manages this by defunding vacant positions and using fund balance to smooth levy impacts.
- Fee increases totaling $181,026 are proposed for services such as research reports and officiate ordination credentials; fees remain lower than comparable counties. No increases for marriage licenses, birth/death certificates (statutory).
- Elections budget: $929,000 increase in 2026 offset by $550,000 from general fund balance. Six FTEs transfer to Office of IPR. The department contracts with cities and school districts for election services; costs for special elections are billed to cities unless they are county or state special elections. The SAVE Act is not expected to have financial impact as current practices already align.
- The “Productive Properties” team helps about 93% of delinquent homeowners avoid tax forfeiture each year.
Communications and Public Relations
- Director Rose Lindsay presented highlights: 23 FTEs in 2026 (returning to 24 in 2027). Major change: $146,000 investment to convert a limited-duration position to permanent to expand the community media program “Nojong Ramsey County” (Hmong-language show) and add two more programs (another language and a Gen Z podcast). The program has seen a 166% increase in Hmong navigator requests and a 202% increase in Hmong service center visits at Maplewood.
- Internal sponsorship from Environmental Health ($100,000) will support the expansion. The department also refreshed the Guide to Services, conducted a photo shoot with real community members, and is working on digital accessibility compliance for the new ADA law (effective April 2026).
- Commissioners encouraged use of hyper-local print publications and coordination with municipal communications partners. Lindsay noted the department recently hosted a local Roseville publication for the environmental center opening.
Key Outcomes
- The board received the IPR service team budget presentations as information. No votes or formal decisions were made.
- The 2026–27 budget process timeline was confirmed:
- First public hearing: Monday, September 22, 2025, at 5:00 PM.
- Board sets maximum 2026 property tax levy: Tuesday, September 23, 2025.
- Second public hearing: Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 6:00 PM.
- Final budget approval and levy set: Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
- The next budget hearings will be Thursday, September 18 (Economic Growth and Community Investment) and Friday, September 19 (Health and Human Services).
- Written public comments are accepted at any time via the county website and are shared with commissioners.
Meeting Transcript
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.
openpublica.com