BEMIDJI 鈥� The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners officially passed its 2024 budget, with a 6.65% tax levy increase during its meeting on Tuesday. The meeting also included the board passing a resolution of support for the local post office and its workers.
The decision to pass the 2024 budget was unanimously approved by the commissioners and followed a presentation by County Administrator Tom Barry outlining the major points of the budget.
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In total, the budget will increase by $5 million, with about a third of it made up of money gained through property taxes via the levy. The 6.65% levy increase represents an increase of $1.92 million from last year, moving the total general levy to $30,871,951.
Barry outlined that many of the pressures for this increase come from areas beyond the county鈥檚 control.
鈥淪o much of our budget is driven by things we can鈥檛 control. We can鈥檛 control inflation, we can鈥檛 control a lot of that,鈥� Barry said. 鈥淲e have to absorb it, and the only way to do that is to increase our revenues or to start cutting services.鈥�
The work to limit the increase in the levy was applauded by the commissioners and Barry, who noted that the initial increase had been an estimated 17%. Through additional state money and a concerted effort by the budget committee, that number was significantly reduced.
Supporting postal workers
The county board also unanimously approved a resolution of support for the local post office and its workers, something initiated after a listening session was held in Bemidji by the offices of U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith last week about reports of mail delays and working conditions.
Barry explained that the county has also been affected by the situation at the post office and that the resolution supported the delivery of mail and the allotment of sufficient resources to the local post office to ensure that.
Three of the commissioners noted that they attended the listening session, District 1 Commissioner Craig Gaasvig, District 2 Commissioner Joe Gould and District 5 Commissioner John Carlson.
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鈥淚 think we should raise awareness of the struggles that are happening with our post office locally,鈥� shared Gould, who drafted the resolution.
Gaasvig echoed these points and noted the significance of public attention on the issue with so many in the community affected.
鈥淚t鈥檚 affecting everybody,鈥� he said. 鈥�(The post office) is an essential service and it needs to be given that respect.鈥�
CSAH 20 discussion
The county board also approved the continuation of a project on County State-Aid Highway 20, which runs along the north end of Lake Bemidji. The project is currently in the design process, and the county is seeking funding opportunities.
While there was some discussion on whether to delay the project to allow further public input, led by Carlson and Gould, these efforts did not move forward.
While both commissioners were in favor of holding a public hearing, the other three on the board raised concerns about how a delay could affect grant opportunities. Commissioners also expressed doubt over the efficacy of alternative routes.
鈥淚鈥檓 not in favor of rerouting it, moving the problem to somebody else. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 a good solution,鈥� Gaasvig said. 鈥淯ltimately we鈥檝e given (the department) the go-ahead that we want to move forward with this project. To put the brakes on now, and potentially miss out on funding, I see that as being counterproductive.鈥�
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When it came to a vote, continuing progress on the project was approved 3-2, with Carlson and Gould in opposition.
The Trust Project
