Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole: Community Services & Supports 2027 Supplemental Budget and Performance Measures - August 27, 2026
Ramsey County Budget Committee of the Whole: Community Services & Supports 2027 Supplemental Budget and Performance Measures - August 27, 2026
The Budget Committee of the Whole met on August 27, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. to review the Community Services & Supports (CSS) Service Team’s proposed 2027 supplemental budget and associated performance measures. Presentations were delivered by four departments: Housing Stability, Financial Assistance Services (FAS), Workforce Solutions, and Veteran Services. Each department detailed key performance indicators, progress toward strategic goals, and challenges, particularly related to federal policy changes (HR1) and funding constraints. Commissioners posed questions on data trends, budget fluctuations, equity, and operational improvements. No formal votes were taken; the presentations informed upcoming budget decisions.
Housing Stability Department Presentation
- Director Dr. Wilkins presented three performance measures: average days on the coordinated entry priority list for single adults (881 days in 2025, goal 180 days by 2030); evictions prevented in housing court (funded by an additional $2 million in LAHA dollars for 2026-2027, increasing case capacity to 1,900); and the number of bundled FHPAP cases (reflecting coordinated use of multiple funding sources).
- The department is undertaking a coordinated entry system redesign this year and next, with $50,000 allocated for a consultant, aiming to shorten wait times and address racial disparities.
- Commissioner questions clarified that the budget decrease from $16M in FY26 to $12M in FY27 in the budget packet does not represent a reduction; it reflects timing of LAHA fund accounting, which will be added via a future board action.
- Director Wilkins emphasized that more affordable housing stock, developed in partnership with the Community & Economic Development (CED) department, is critical to reducing wait times.
Financial Assistance Services (FAS) Presentation
- Director Ali Ali presented four performance measures: average wait time at service centers (16 minutes in 2025, down from 22 in 2024); percentage of residents reporting they received needed help (90% in 2025, goal 95% by 2030); SNAP application timeliness (expedited: 23% in 2025, improved to 46% by March 2026; regular: 70% in 2025, improved to 87% by March 2026); and percentage of emergency assistance (EA) and emergency general assistance (EGA) funds supporting permanent housing (69% in 2025, helping 1,850 families).
- The county approved 17.5 new FTEs for FAS, including 6.5 for SNAP, to address workload increases from HR1.
- Director Ali noted that the state’s aging MAXIS system hinders efficiency, and the county is exploring cross-training and internal modernization while awaiting state upgrades.
- Commissioners discussed the low SNAP timeliness metrics, the importance of surveying more residents (current sample size ~400-434), and the need to track HR1’s impact on benefit caseloads (estimated 7,000 SNAP recipients affected, but actual reductions unknown).
Workforce Solutions Presentation
- Director Catrice Davis presented four performance measures: percentage of MFIP participants exited to employment (low single digits, e.g., 2-4% over recent years, with goals to maintain through holistic supports); percentage of MFIP families engaged in whole family support services (targeting African American and American Indian families through contracts with NIDCAD and American Indian Family Center); percent of residents served at career labs from low-income zip codes (goal 350 by 2030); and number of public pathways program graduates employed (goals adjusted for natural attrition and reduced funding).
- The holistic family supports model, funded through TANF consolidated grants, provides culturally responsive services including mental health, transportation, and child care assistance.
- Commissioners questioned the low MFIP exit rates and noted that many MFIP recipients are employed part-time but cannot achieve self-sufficiency due to benefit cliffs. Director Davis confirmed that additional data on employment while on MFIP is tracked separately.
- County Manager Becker highlighted a $500K investment in the family coach model for 2027 to complement MFIP services.
Veteran Services Presentation
- Director Christina Ross presented three performance measures: percentage of new residents served (27% in 2025, goal 31% by 2030); percentage of veterans reporting they received needed services (96% in 2025, based on 28% survey response rate); and percentage of veterans served who applied for at least one qualified benefit (30% in 2025, up from 16% in 2020, goal 38% by 2030).
- The department collaborates with county encampment outreach (a veteran outreach social worker is embedded with the team) and community partners to reach veterans, including Special Guerrilla Unit veterans from Laos.
- Director Ross noted that federal VA claims processing has accelerated (75-81 days) but error rates have increased, requiring additional appeals work.
- The county is exploring text-based surveys and a Power BI dashboard to improve data collection and outcome tracking.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken; the presentations are part of the budget deliberation process.
- Commissioners emphasized the need for clear data storytelling, particularly around MFIP exit rates, EA/EGA housing support metrics, and HR1 impacts on caseloads.
- Staff will follow up on specific data requests, including coordinated entry redesign details, EA/EGA eligibility clarification, and the breakdown of MFIP participant employment outcomes.
- The next presentation in the budget series is scheduled for August 28, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., focusing on operational service teams and budget addenda.
- Public participation is encouraged via public hearings, contacting commissioners, or submitting written comments to the Chief Clerk’s office.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon, and welcome to the budget committee of the whole. Today's focus would be on community services and support. On August 25th, County Manager Lean Becker provided an overview of the proposed supplemental budget. Today the community services and support service team kicks off a series of presentations that focus on performance measures for each department. The county performance measure process helps the county improve accountability to our community, understand the impact of budget investments, make data-informed decisions, and identify opportunities for improvement. Performance measures are already available for review online in an open performance section of the open of the county's open data quarter. If you want more information about the performance measures presented today, check out the community service and support department dashboard, which have additional charts and background information. And so with that, I'll hand it over to Deputy County Manager Karen Francois to start our community services and support presentations. Thank you, Chair. Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Commissioners, County Manager Becker, those of you here in chambers, and those of you joining and watching remotely. Where are we seeing disparities? What can we do differently? And what are we getting the greatest possible value from the resources entrusted to us? Those questions matter in any budget environment, but they matter even more in the one we're in and the one we're entering. As we make difficult choices, we need to know what's working so we can protect it. We need to know what isn't working as well as it should so we can change it. And before our answer is simply to add more resources, we need to understand whether there are better ways to organize the work, simplify a process, use technology, eliminate duplication, or work differently across departments. And that's operational excellence. A good performance inf good performance information helps us get there. We've seen that very clearly in our recent work supporting residents affected by encampment closures. County teams have had to work across traditional departmental lines and bring financial assistance, housing, public health, social services, and other supports directly to residents. We've had to pay attention to what residents need, what is working, where are the gaps, and to be able to adjust quickly. That kind of response doesn't happen because a single program, because of a single program or a single department. It happens because we have been building a stronger culture around outcomes, continuous improvement, and resident centered service. There is also an important fiscal side to this. Performance measurement cannot simply be a tool for identifying where to reduce spending. It also needs to help us identify what we should protect. If an investment is producing meaningful results for residents, we should know that. Listen for the story behind the measure. What changed for residents? What did we learn? What are we doing differently because of what the data tells us? And what does that mean for where we put our resources going forward? Because ultimately, that's the purpose of this work. As county manager Becker noted on Tuesday, performance will help inform the next budget cycle and future decisions. Given the choices ahead of us, that connection between resources, performance, and results is going to become increasingly important. I also want to thank our department directors and their teams and our admin director and our controller and the office of the chief of staff as well as central finance, the executive team, and county manager Becker. It takes real work to develop meaningful measures, examine your own results, and then use what you've learned to improve. The fiscal challenges ahead are significant. But if we stay focused on what works, remain willing to change what doesn't, and keep residents at the center of those decisions, will be in a much stronger position to make the difficult choices ahead. And with that, I will turn it over to our departments to make their presentations. Thank you. Thank you. So Dr. Wilkins. So we will invite Director Wilkins up to the I don't know. It might be holy. It might be great. Welcome.
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