Potential state budget shift headed for Aitkin County

With roughly one week left in session, the governor, House and Senate are all hard at work on the budget for Minnesota. The governor and both
houses of the Legislature are proposing “budget cuts” to deal with a projected shortfall. These aren’t actual cuts. They are budget shifts, pushing the costs of
state-mandated services directly onto county governments and by extension, Aitkin County taxpayers.

Here in Aitkin County, our staff, buildings and resources keep these programs running. The funding to do so has historically come from the state and federal
government — but that’s what’s changing. When those funds are reduced, counties have only one tool left to keep these services going: property taxes.
Again, these proposed cuts are cost shifts. What the state no longer pays for, Aitkin County must absorb. That means Aitkin County homeowners and business
owners may carry the burden. If these budget proposals pass as they are currently written, counties across Minnesota will be faced with
difficult decisions concerning potential levy increases of 5% to 9% just to maintain existing state-mandated services.

Additional tax burdens on the horizon:
• Paid Family Leave, scheduled to take effect in 2026, will be an unfunded mandate on counties.
• The Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act is scheduled to go into effect in 2027 and is projected to add another 5% to 6% to county budgets.
• Budget cuts or shifts make it difficult to fund new important priorities, such as rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS), otherwise known as ambulance services.
• Federal budget cuts could add to this mounting pressure.
Now is the time to contact your state legislators and urge them to find balanced, long-term solutions. Shifting costs from the state to counties only passes the burden
to local taxpayers. Let’s ensure rural counties like Aitkin are part of the conversation before these shifts become a permanent reality.

CHAIR J MARK WEDEL AND THE AITKIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
J. Mark Wedel is the Board Chair of the Aitkin County
Board of Commissioners.