Washington County Board Meeting

I don't know. I noticed that it follows. No, last year it was- No, it was five. Yeah. Never mind.

Last year, there was also a dog that came in on the second day. Mm-hmm. It was great.

Good morning. We will call the May 12th Washington County Board of Commissioners meeting to order. Clerk, please take the roll. Commissioner Miran. Here. Commissioner Karwoski. Here. Commissioner Cox. Here. Commissioner Bigham. Here. Commissioner Clausen. Here. Roll call taken, all present. Please join us in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Next item on the agenda are comments from the public. I do have one speaker card, so if Julie Andrich from May Township would please approach the rostrum. We ask that maybe keep it three to five minutes, and if there are other folks, just try not to repeat what another speaker said. Great. Thank you. I'm glad I don't have to follow this cute group that's going to come right behind me. This would be a tough one to follow, for sure. So good morning. My name is Julie Andrich. I'm a supervisor on the board at May Township, and I'm here today to ask the commissioners to consider reevaluating the applicants for the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Water District board of managers, on which you will formally vote a week from now on May 19th. I understand I only have five minutes, and I will keep this brief. I'd like to give you a short history of events in May Township as they pertain to this matter, and why it's so important to our township to have your support at the county level.

Things started last June when over 100 people showed up at May Town Hall demanding change after multiple property owners were intentionally surveilled and issued violations by the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District, which I'll just call the Watershed from now on. I know we have more than one. This surveillance was random and not a result of public complaint. One of the violations was a first-ever joint notice of violation in which the Watershed asked the DNR and Washington County to participate. That particular matter has since been resolved with no violation or fine, but also at the cost to the homeowner of tens of thousand dollars in legal fees. She did nothing wrong, and her neighbors and community came to support her in a standing-room only forum last June. Commissioner Miron was at that meeting as well, and I think he would agree with me in the sentiment that the people spoke. May Township heard its taxpayers loud and clear that day and went to work to engage with people in the community willing to serve on the Watershed board, who would give the people a voice at the table and not simply rubber-stamp the agenda set forth by the administrator.

Frankly, it was that June meeting that inspired me to roll up my sleeves and get involved as well. With a lifelong career in privately held family business, I'm now serving for the first time in local government. May Township endorsed five candidates who would provide the balance needed to hold the Watershed accountable while also loving and protecting our beautiful resources. As of today, you have only selected one of those candidates, and consequently, taken away a key voice we had on the board in Manager Warner. Quickly, I want to make a few high-level comments that I hope you'll give me a chance to further discuss with you in the very near future. One, the lack of diverse hydrological representation you are proposing is concerning. The lack of diversity of thought and life experience among the managers being endorsed is unfortunate. The reduction of representation in May Township from three managers to one is especially disappointing when you take into consideration the public outcry of the last year or more.

And while it's not part of the criteria you are required to consider when making these appointments, I think it's noteworthy to point out that May Township provides the largest tax contribution to this watershed. To have only one representative left because he's still a sitting manager and not up for reappointment this year is something I believe is worth your consideration. So in closing, I'd like to request a meeting with all of the voting commissioners during this next week, prior to the vote on next Tuesday, the 19th, to share in more detail the history of how we got here, and the consequence for our township if the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District Board remains unbalanced and underrepresented. May Township needs Washington County to step up and reconsider these appointments. Commissioner Miron and Administrator Corbid have my contact information, and I look forward to the next conversation. Thank you so much. Thank you, Supervisor. Are there any other individuals that would like to address the board during public comment?

Okay, seeing none, we'll move on to approval of the agenda, but I do just want to have, for the viewing public and cable folks in the back, probably between adjournment of the board meeting and prior to the workshop on mandates and core functions, we will take a break. So, is there a motion to approve the agenda? Second. Moved and seconded. Discussion? Seeing none. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries. Next is consent calendar. Are there any items that commissioners would like to pull? All right, seeing none, do we have a motion? I'll make a motion to approve A through I as listed. All right. Second. Moved and seconded. Clerk will take the roll. Commissioner Miron? Aye. Commissioner Karwoski? Aye. Commissioner Cox? Aye. Commissioner Clausen? Aye. Commissioner Bigham? Aye. Consent calendar passes five zero. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is from community services, about the presentation of an award and recognition of the 2026 Child Care Provider of the Year, who are nominated by the Washington County Child Care Licensors committees and family.

And to present is Supervisor Michelle McIntosh and Division Manager Sarah Ammons.

Good morning. Good morning, commissioners, guests, families, and community members. It is truly an honor to stand before you today to recognize an exceptional individual whose work reflects the very heart of family childcare, Jenny Knutson. This year's family childcare provider of the year has dedicated herself not only to caring for children, but to building a place where families feel supported, welcomed, and understood. Her program currently serves 10 full-time children, along with additional school-aged children during the summers and school breaks. But the true measure of her work cannot be counted in enrollment numbers alone. It is measured in trust, consistency, and in the relationships she has built over the years with the children and families in her care. If you know anything about childcare, you will agree that managing whose turn it is today with the favorite toy also deserves some kind of honorary advanced degree all by itself. Like many providers, Jenny's journey into childcare began with the desire to be home with her own children while they were young.

What started as a practical decision quickly became something much greater. Through the years, she discovered a deep passion for nurturing children and supporting families during some of life's most important and sometimes most difficult moments. One of the things that makes her especially remarkable is her belief that every child deserves patience, understanding, and the opportunity to succeed. Jenny shared that she often welcomes children who may need a little extra support, children who may struggle in traditional settings, children who need consistency, or families navigating challenges that can make daily life more difficult. Rather than seeing obstacles, she sees potential. Rather than turning families away, she works to create an environment where children can grow, learn, and feel valued. Her philosophy is grounded in meeting children where they are and helping guide them toward where they need to be. She understands that every child comes into the world differently, with different personalities, strengths, needs, and experiences, and she approaches each one with compassion and respect.

In a world that often feels rushed, overwhelmed, overstimulated, and overwhelming, she is also committed to continuing her own professional growth. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing, maintains a Parent Aware rating, and is currently pursuing the Hoag, I think. That's right. Okay, perfect. The Hoag Early Years Accreditation, which is an approach focused on creating calm, connecting, and meaningful childhood experiences. What stood out about Jenny is her honesty about the realities of this profession. Family childcare providers wear many hats. They are educators, caregivers, business owners, advocates, problem-solvers, and often a steady source of support for entire families. The work requires long hours, adaptability, resilience, and an enormous heart. And despite the demands of the profession, she continues to show up each day with compassion, dedication, and unwavering commitment to the children and families she serves. Over the years, she has been a steady and caring presence for families during times of uncertainty and transition.

She's provided comfort, stability, flexibility, and reassurance when it was most needed. For many families, her childcare program has been more than a service. It has been a trusted extension of their support system. That kind of impact cannot be measured by ratings, certifications, or hours worked. It's measured in confidence that the children gain. It's measured in the relief parents feel knowing their children are safe. It's measured in the lasting relationships built through years of trust. And sometimes it may just be measured by how many times a kid goes home wearing the same shoes they arrived in. Family childcare providers are an essential part of strong communities. They help children grow, support working families, and provide the kind of individualized care that shapes lives in meaningful, lasting ways. Today, we are proud to recognize someone who represents the very best of this profession. So on behalf of Washington County's Community Services Department, the Children's Division, Licensing Unit, Board of Commissioners, and the entire community, thank you for your extraordinary care, dedication, and kindness you bring to children and families every day.

I would like to present Jenny Knutson for recognition as this year's Family Childcare Provider of the Year.

Congratulations.

And I just want to take a couple of minutes to thank the people that make this job so worth my time. Licensing have been there to answer all of the ridiculous questions that I've had over the last 20 plus years and help me navigate through new licensing regulations and whatever else pops up that my brain is too frazzled to figure out on my own. My husband, who has put in thousands of hours behind the scenes, whether it's moving hundreds of piles of wood chips into the playground area, moving a fence, building furniture, or just listening to my stories at the end of the day about the craziness that has happened. My parents, you guys have trusted me so much throughout the years, and every morning, every afternoon, that little tiny bit of adult interaction from all of the ridiculousness of the day and being told that that is in fact not a chainsaw that we hear.

It is a giraffe making that noise outside. I'm like, "Somebody else has to hear this story." And then for my small people who have caused a lot of craze, they let me know every day something's wrong, but also they're fun. They make me laugh. They make me smile. They challenge me in so, so many ways, and I appreciate all of you for all that you've done throughout the years. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Before we come down and do a photo with you, if you don't mind, one, thank you for everybody for being here today and showing your support. Childcare providers, as was said in Supervisor McIntosh's comments, it's everything from protector, educator. It's really such a vitally important part of our workforce, and we do have a shortage. And so I always appreciate this day to highlight the wonderful work that providers do, and it's a team effort, as you noted to your husband. And so just thank you for what you do for sticking with the process, whether it's the Parent Aware and all the other accreditations that really put that quality assurance in these children, because you're going to have a lifelong impact on these littles. So, does anybody else have any comment? All right. Well, we'll come down there to take a picture, and again, congratulations.

I didn't bring a balloon.

Let's try. You can be right there.

Oh.

Yeah. Yeah, the kids. With all the- Kids. Kids. Yeah, that's the part that's fun.

I got stuff I need to know. Some light-up shoes, which I think are awesome. Oh, how fun is that?

All

Right, kiddos.

All right, everybody. On our three. You ready? Big smiles. One, two, three. Thank you.

I

Look like someone's aunt.

All right. The next item on the agenda is from accounting and finance with Jill Zenzola, the accounting manager, to talk to us on the American Rescue Plan Act completion. Yes. Good morning, Chair and commissioners. I'm Jill Zinzola, the accounting manager in accounting and finance. Today, I will give an overview of the American Rescue Plan Act, provide a final financial update, and highlight a few of the projects funded by ARPA. In 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law to help the country recover from the pandemic. Out of the $1.9 trillion package, Washington County received almost $51 million. The US Department of Treasury required all funds to be fully obligated by December 31st, 2024, and fully expensed by December 31st, 2026. After more than five years since the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law, Washington County has fully expensed its nearly $51 million in state and local fiscal recovery funds to support recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

These funds have made a significant impact across the county. In total, the county completed 39 ARPA projects involving 10 departments in partnership with other agencies, including the City of Stillwater, the CDA, and Dakota County. The county separated the funding into four categories: county infrastructure improvements, investments in water, sewer, and broadband, supporting the public health needs of county residents and staff, and supporting workers, residents, businesses, and others negatively impacted by the pandemic. Investments included affordable housing development in Cottage Grove, construction of the Emergency Housing Services building, implementation of a new countywide phone system, upgrades to county facilities and parks, critical equipment purchases for multiple departments, and many other improvements. Without this funding, many of these projects would have been delayed for years or may not have been possible at all. Today, we'll highlight a few projects in each category. Property records and taxpayer services received $788,000 to replace outdated election equipment. The funding was used to update the AVDs, replacing end-of-life units with new OmniBallot tablets. These tablets significantly improved accessibility and ease of use for voters. Electronic rosters were also upgraded to cellular-enabled poll pads. This change improved the consistency of Election Day voter check-in across the entire county.

Additional polling place tabulators were also purchased to increase capacity and provide backup if needed. Altogether, these upgrades increase efficiency, strengthen consistency, and improve the overall voter experience. They also position the county for future growth, larger voter turnout, and evolving security needs. The county invested 1.3 million to replace its aging telephone system, implementing a modern soft phone solution that enabled staff to access their work phone from any internet-connected device. This upgrade significantly enhanced workforce flexibility by supporting employees who work from home, in the field, or at client locations. The soft phone system also introduced new communication capabilities, including the ability to send text messages and faxes directly from work numbers, improving efficiency and staff responsiveness. As part of this effort, more than 2,100 pieces of phone hardware were replaced to update and strengthen the county's telecommunications infrastructure.

The county allocated $2 million for investments in broadband within Washington County. The program provided matching funds to cities, townships, and broadband providers to support projects in unserved or underserved areas. These areas included Forest Lake, Scandia, Hugo, Afton, Grey Cloud Island, Grant, Stillwater Township, and May Township. Working with Comcast and Midco, we completed several projects that brought reliable internet services to more than 1,600 homes and businesses. 7.3 million was invested in a full replacement of the heating and cooling system serving the government center, the county courthouse, and the law enforcement center. The project included replacing three steam boilers with four high-efficiency boilers at the law enforcement center, replacing two hot water boilers with two high-efficiency boilers at the government center, and installing two new cooling systems at both the government center and the law enforcement center, and then adding an emergency generator at the government center. The completion of the building modifications project impacted nine county departments and included the installation of 300 new workstations and new furniture for 75 offices.

Replacing existing furniture with more flexible workspace options maximized available space and reduced the need for future county facility expansion. Building services also added 48 public computer workstations across three library locations, improving the public access to internet services. Audio-visual systems were upgraded in five public conference rooms and one department conference room, enhancing virtual collaboration between staff working across multiple sites from home offices and with clients. New technology was implemented to support virtual court hearings for individuals in custody. The project also included full remodels of the government center election space, the government center cafeteria, and the Lake Elmo contact station.

The Emergency Housing Services building officially opened on December 15th, 2025. This project was made possible in part through a $10.2 million contribution from ARPA. The building is the first permanent shelter in Washington County dedicated to single adults and allows residents to receive necessary services in the community. The facility includes 30 private rooms, each with its own bathroom, and can accommodate up to 37 adults. It operates with 24/7 staffing, which helps ensure residents have access to support services that fit their schedule and work commitments. Since the shelter opened, Washington County staff have referred 113 individuals for housing. Of those, 67 have been accepted, and the building is currently operating at full capacity.

ARPA funds filled the gap in the financing for the construction of BlueStem, an affordable housing development in Cottage Grove. With a total development cost exceeding 16 million, the project created 52 new affordable housing units for senior and disabled residents earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income. The development is strategically located near Park Grove Library, as well as grocery stores, restaurants, retail shops, and medical offices, providing residents with convenient access to essential services and community resources. In addition, 36 units are supported through project-based vouchers, ensuring long-term affordable and stable housing to senior and disabled adults. ARPA funded the extended access pilot program at the Valley Library in Lakeland, increasing community access to library services beyond the staffed hours. Funding supported the installation of security cameras, the purchase of access management software, and upgrades to staff areas to ensure safety and security during unstaffed operations. As a result, library availability expanded from 24 staffed hours per week to 112 total access hours per week.

Since implementation, patrons have logged more than 9,000 visits and completed over 7,000 checkouts during unstaffed hours alone. Overall, the program has greatly broadened the library's reach by increasing opportunities for the community members to use library resources, technology, and spaces at times that would better fit their schedules. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of reliable internet access for education, healthcare, and employment. In response, the library launched a mobile hotspot lending program to help bridge the digital divide within the community. Initially funded through the CARES Act, the program transitioned to ARPA funding from July 2023 to December 2024. During that period, library hotspots were checked out more than 900 times. By providing free internet access through portable hotspots, the library continues to support residents with essential connectivity for learning, job opportunities, telehealth services, and everyday communication needs. Now I will stand for any questions. Thank you. Any discussion, comments? Commissioner Miron? Yeah, thank you. Jill, what are you going to do now?

I've got a whole list of things. Just reflecting on the work that we've done with the funding that we received, I'm really proud of how this board utilized the funds, how our staff developed recommendations, and the good that we did with the money, and the good that's going to continue because of the type of investments that we made utilizing these funds. So I'm just really, really proud of this county board and our staff and how well we utilized the funding. It's even more interesting as we look around at our colleagues in other areas and how they utilized theirs. But I think we just did a fantastic job of utilizing the funds. And Jill, when I asked that question, I obviously teasing, but you've been the lead on this thing from the very get-go with respect to accountability, and reporting to the county board as to where we were and making sure that this funding got utilized in a proper way within the timeframe that we had to, and that accountability was really, really critical for us to be able to utilize those funds.

So congratulations to you for the fabulous work that you've done during this whole process. It's been a long endeavor. So thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Cox. Ms. Anzola, just a thank you. I've done a tiny amount of grant management in my life, and $51 million is a lot to track every cent for. And so congratulations on seeing this through from beginning to end. Some amazing projects have happened, and you've been a part of every single one. So thank you. Commissioner Karwoski. Thank you, Madam Chair. I agree wholeheartedly with my colleagues here on the board, their comments. I'll just add some things. I really think, well, one, the process has been very transparent. Many presentations and updates, so the residents always knew what was happening. I think the investments either saved our taxpayer local funding that we would have had to contribute without the federal funds. Also, I think a lot of the investments did good deeds with resilience and good health.

They were spurred on by the pandemic. So there were a lot of things like remote access, a lot of potential for very expensive, what would you call it? HVAC system upgrades in our buildings to make sure we have healthy air For the other pandemics are less likely to happen. So I think we abided by the rules, and I think they were smart investments that were long-range, and in many cases, part of our capital improvement plan. Thank you. Commissioner Clausen. Yeah. Thank you for your presentation, and I'm sure it has been a long project, and it's something that you can put on your resume that'll look amazing that you were in charge of this amazing 52 million? 50, 70? How many? No, 51 million. 51. That's a lot of money that we received. We were so blessed to be able to get that from President Biden. And if we wouldn't have received those funds, I don't know what we would've done here, to be honest. I don't know. It would've been a really hard time for the county. And now, from what I've witnessed, by our current standing president, it seems like they want it all back by not giving us the federal funding we used to get.

And so it's been hard to see the money come in from that, and then also see the money we're not getting from the federal government anymore. So I look at the money that... And I'm sure people who are watching today are like, "That's a lot of money that you received." And it all went to very important infrastructure, including the shelter, which we never had a homeless shelter in Washington County. And it wouldn't have happened if we wouldn't have received the ARPA funds. And I was able to be elected during that period of time and shared a really personal story about a family member who became homeless in Stillwater, and I believe that story really was the catalyst to making sure that this homeless shelter got done. But also, we could have gotten additional money from the state at the time, and we didn't. So if somebody looks at the amount of money at 10.2, that wasn't what it was proposed at. We did think we were going to get bonding that year, but we did not get bonding that year. So, what other things can be explained from this presentation that people might look at now and go, "Wow, that's a lot of money."

Public health. We talked a little bit about supporting public health, but there was a lot of really important things that needed to be done. And so I do feel like as commissioners, we need to talk more about why these decisions were made at the time they were made, because looking at it now, people really might question us raising taxes. And so timing is really everything when we get big funds like this, and we had how many months to get it all done, all completed and paid for? Probably what, three years? Or was it two years? Since we received the funding? So how fast did we have to get it allocated out? We had three years to obligate it, yes. Yeah. And so people need to understand that this came with an obligation of spending it within a certain allotted time, too. So, I just thought it was really important that I add that information. So thank you. Thank you for your presentation.

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I'm not going to repeat a lot of what was said. Commissioner Karwoski kind of stole a little bit of my talking points about the transparency and saving the local taxpayers money because we obviously use property taxes to pay for a lot of this, or sales tax. And so it's helpful to have the federal funding. I think the one thing I will highlight is the economic activity that resulted from this, from building out the projects, and being able to help stabilize families and residents during this time. But I will say, this one-time investment really is going to have such a positive impact on communities for a very long time. So I appreciate your effort in tracking this, and we've had flawless audits in this area, and just appreciate everything you've done to make it a transparent process. So thank you. Thank you. Madam Chair? Yeah. Can I just add my thanks to Jill and the team in accounting and finance for their work, also to all the department staff that were leaders of all these projects and keeping track of the funding over that long period of time.

And also just a reminder that this was really the third large pot of money we received during this time. If you recall, we received CARES funding first- Mm... just over $30 million. Right. Most of that went to support businesses and homeowners in the county right when the pandemic was occurring. There was also a lot of funding provided to public health for doing things like the vaccination, not clinics, they were much bigger and broader than that. But we remember us getting the old Herberger's building there to providing vaccines to the community. So, this is the third large pot of money over that period of time. And so altogether, we probably received somewhere close to $100 million that was managed by the county for the good of its community members since the pandemic started. So certainly, we hope there's not another need for something like this in any time in the near future. And I do echo Commissioner Clausen's comments that we would just hope that the federal government just funds the things that they're continuing to ask us to do, like they did this.

So, thank you. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. The next item on the agenda is from the attorney's office, and it is regarding the auto theft grant that the county participates in and receives. And to do this presentation is Justin Richardson, Assistant County Attorney Madam Chair, Commissioners, good morning. My name is Justin Richardson, and I am with the Washington County Attorney's Office. I'm here to give you a presentation on our auto theft program. For many of our citizens, a loss of a motor vehicle can be financially devastating and have long-term impact. It's not just the loss of transportation, but many citizens are forced to bear the financial costs beyond whatever insurance will cover to replace that vehicle if it is not recovered. To combat that, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has created an auto theft grant that they award out every two years. We at the Washington County Attorney's Office have been fortunate enough to receive that grant. That grant goes towards the dedicated resources to investigate, prosecute motor vehicle thefts, which are statutorily notoriously difficult to prove.

And so some of the most common issues that we run into in terms of prosecuting motor vehicle theft is with motor vehicle theft itself, it's very difficult to prove unless the individual is caught stealing the vehicle. The next category, which is where a majority of our cases fall into, is what's classified as receiving stolen property, which is being inside of a stolen vehicle. However, there, the challenge is that it is not a crime to drive a stolen vehicle. It is a crime to knowingly drive a stolen vehicle, and that difference is what has created a lot of legal challenges. Lastly is false purchase of a motor vehicle. So the classic example is two private individuals doing a sale. The suspect gives a bad check that they know is a bad check and won't clear, leaves with the vehicle. In many jurisdictions, that's treated as a civil issue. Here in Washington County, we prosecute that criminally.

So some of our solutions to deal with these challenges. First was to create uniformity in charging. And so there are guidelines that every prosecutor in our office follows in terms of what cases we'll charge, what cases we will request more information for or further investigation for. This has allowed law enforcement to have clear and consistent guidelines in terms of when a case is ready to prosecute. We've also focused on making sure that the cases are trial-ready at the time they are charged. And so, in essence, that means that if we take that case when it's submitted, we could walk into present it to 12 jurors that day. We've worked with law enforcement on their guidelines in terms of when to collect DNA or when to take other steps. In terms of our success, for 2024, we had 55 referrals. And when I refer to a referral, it means a case submitted to us from our various municipal or county agencies.

51 of those were charged. In 2025, we received 42 referrals, 39 of those were charged. And this year we have received six referrals, and all of those were charged. And when we go into the uncharged category, some are declinations, but it doesn't necessarily mean a declination. It can mean that we are asking for that further investigation before charging it, so it's trial-ready. And compared to 2020, we had 343 referrals, 280 were charged, and so that was 81%. Currently, for the past three years, 93% have been charged. We also have taken steps towards aggressive prosecution, and what I mean by that is that we take the hard cases to trial. Recently, we took a case to trial last month where it was a vehicle stolen out of a Home Depot in Forest Lake. Classic snatch and grab. All law enforcement had was surveillance from inside the Home Depot and surveillance from outside the Home Depot. We took that case to trial, and the jury was ultimately able to convict in that instance, where they were able to look at the internal stills, say, "Yep, that person in that clothing is, in fact, the individual who took that vehicle in the parking lot."

This graph shows the information I just covered. And as part of our solutions, while we still provide formal trainings, we move to a more informal process. The officers who work patrol are the ones who are most likely to encounter a stolen vehicle. They're either going to respond when someone calls 911 and says, "My vehicle was in my driveway when I went to sleep, and it's gone this morning." Or they are the ones where they are going to stop a vehicle, and when they run its information, they learn that it's stolen. So what we have developed is a more informal direct line of communication, where we're speaking with, in our office, the patrol officers who are working those beats. Retail is a huge one. A lot of our motor vehicles in our county are stolen from other counties, and they are used to commit crimes in Washington County. And so the law enforcement officers who work retail are most likely to encounter those stolen vehicles because they're there to steal from our big box chains.

In turn, law enforcement has very graciously taken time to train me in on some of their processes and what they're doing, which has better allowed myself as the auto theft attorney to understand what they're doing, represent it to the court accurately, and also further prosecute understanding how the case is put together. And like I said, while we still put formal trainings on, the informal process has... been a huge part of the reason that that prosecution rate went from 81% to 93%. All auto theft cases come to me after charging. So if it comes in in custody, it goes to anyone in our office who's charging that day, but after that, they all come to me. That means every defense attorney deals with me in terms of negotiations. This has created uniformity, this has created fairness in that every defendant is treated the same. For our cases, diversion is the exception rather than the rule. In the past three years, we have achieved 69 convictions, but only four have been diverted, and three of those diversions were individuals that I would classify as recent adults, so under the age of 20, and first-time offenders.

As I stated previously, for the false sales, we prosecute that as theft by swindle rather than treating it as a civil matter. So let's talk a little bit about what the auto theft grant, what we were awarded, and what it has done for the county. For the '26, 2027 calendar period, we were awarded $138,956, and that is split between the two years. For this year, it's $70,478, and for next year, it's $68,478. In terms of what that has bought, we are at a 10-year low in terms of motor vehicle theft. On this graph before you, I have provided, so 2014, we were at 45 referrals. Last year, we were at 42 referrals. So it is even lower than it was a decade ago. I added 2019 and 2023 to give you a comparison. For 2019, we were at 69 referrals, and for 2023, we were also at 69 referrals. That range of the 60s to the 70s is typically what we would see in a calendar year.

2020 and 2021 were COVID, and we saw a huge spike, as well as the flaw in the Kias and the Hyundais that allowed them to be easily stolen. 2022, we saw a lot of changes in our practices, including law enforcement's changes in their practices, which reflects in the numbers there. And then since then, our numbers have steadily gone down. I spoke with some of our law enforcement agencies and asked them why they thought that the numbers were going down, and some of the factors that they gave me were education and outreach. That the education, particularly on not leaving your keys in your vehicle, not leaving a vehicle unlocked, even if you're just running into the gas station to grab a drink, has really reduced snatch and grabs. That early interdiction by law enforcement and our juvenile division with juveniles has kept the numbers down, that our juvenile rate is in the single digits. That's how many active cases we have involving juveniles in motor vehicle theft.

And to compare that to the bigger metro counties, that is a large portion of their motor vehicle theft. So that early interdiction has in turn led to less juveniles re-offending, less juveniles getting more involved, and less juveniles ending up in things such as carjacking. We've also seen, as law enforcement increases their presence in high target areas such as retail, big box chains, residential areas, that we've seen a declination in the number of stolen vehicles appearing. And then, of course, there are new technologies that have allowed cases that were previously unable to be prosecuted to be prosecuted now. And so, to quote one of our law enforcement officials, the environment that has been created over the past three years has created one where the word is out that if you come to Washington County in a stolen vehicle, you're going to get caught, and you're going to get prosecuted. Madam Chair, commissioners, that concludes my presentation, and I stand now for questions.

Well, thank you, Mr. Richardson. Any questions? No questions. Commissioner. No questions, Madam Chair, but congratulations. I don't know what kind of accountability they're reporting there is required as part of this grant, but your presentation, in my opinion at least, is just a very credible presentation that supports the grant funding that was provided. And I hope that your presentation is forwarded to the people in charge of distributing those grant funds, because this is really a good story to be telling, and just appreciate the information and how well this grant was utilized. And we continue to have good reports from the county attorney's office, and we appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Clausen. Yeah. Thank you for the presentation. You brought up some discussion points that I would like to have more time and to talk through, but I really am glad that you brought this forward. I think this talks about some of the things I've heard about Washington County when it comes to auto theft, and is it accessory, those that you also go and charge for accessory- Yes... you said?

And the amount of accessories were more than other counties, is what I was told. And so I want to talk about that a little bit. Do you have the demographics on those that you said were prosecuted, and the age groups of those? At this time, I do not have the demographics or age groups with me. Mm-hmm. However, our office could provide that information. Yeah. Thank you. Because I believe a lot of the times, the children, because they're a lot of times under the age of 18, they are of a poorer class, a low class. They are diverse, and they sometimes come with to single moms, families that struggle. And so, I think this program is one of the programs where I saw it, unfortunately, targeting African American males. And I know that since then, there have been a lot of programs to prevent that from happening. And it really did happen a lot before the catalytic converter legislative bill was passed, especially in my area, where I'm a district, District 5. And I'm so happy to hear that there is a low that has continued to go down since that occurred, and I think it was, what, maybe four years ago that was kind of going on. It was during the pandemic, right?

I can look it up. But I think all of it contributed to your claim of the 10-year low that you discussed, and in your work and the referrals that you're bringing in and making sure that they are trial-worthy. I appreciate that because, given the 138,000 in grants, it's not a lot. And so, to be able to get that done and completed, I'm really happy that you came and talked about it today. But I do have concerns, particularly on surveillance. I have concerns about surveillance cameras that are continuing to be going up around my district and city of Woodbury. We now have, I think, 23 FLOT cameras, and I don't think that we need those because, as you said, we have a 10-year low, and I don't see the accidents occurring or the FLOT cameras being used to get the accident report. So I don't really see the advantage of FLOT cameras for people. I think it's more dangerous.

And I've seen, throughout the United States, a lot of concerns on FLOT cameras. But I appreciate you talking about surveillance cameras because, yes, I'm in Woodbury. I'm on one of the busiest retail shops or areas of the county, and there's cameras everywhere, inside and outside the parking lot. But yeah, I appreciate everything you brought through. I would love to talk to you about the DNA part because DNA for an auto theft, I was curious about that, so would love to hear some of the stories when you have time sometime. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. And thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Commissioner. We may have a couple more. Commissioner Cox? Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Richardson, thank you for the presentation today, and I'm glad that you added some of that comment from the deputies because I was actually looking at this graph that's still on the screen and wondering, well, why did the referrals fall off? And there's probably many reasons, and so I appreciated hearing that extra bit about education to the community and different things like that probably play a pretty big role.

So, thank you for the very important work that you do here at the county, and thanks for coming. Commissioner Karwoski? Thank you, Assistant Attorney Richardson, for the presentation. I'm really happy to hear the drastic reduction in auto thefts, and I'm really happy to see that you say the word in the metro areas that don't come to Washington County if you're driving a stolen car. Mm-hmm. I was curious, generally, if you could make some comment on what I think is another deterrent that wasn't mentioned, is that if we're due diligence on cracking down on people driving stolen cars, I believe if we don't do that, those same persons are likely to commit other crimes in our community. Is there any correlating facts? You don't have to delve deeply into it, but in general, is that some truth to what I'm saying? Madam Chair, Commissioner, to answer your question, yes, there is some truth to that. What we have seen primarily in Washington County is that we are a receiving county, and so many of the vehicles that are recovered in Washington County are stolen from other counties. And many of those vehicles are recovered at the time that they are used in the commission of another act.

Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Karwoski. Mr. Richardson, thank you for a wonderful presentation. This grant is very helpful, and it's helpful to the victims, and that is the focus of the work that you do to make sure that a victim does not lose their car, does not have that terrorizing feeling to know that they were invaded, and that is something that I know that the county attorney's office and law enforcement across this county focus on every day are the victims. The other thing I just want to say is these grants, I believe this is through the Department of Commerce, if I'm right. I think it's issued through an insurance fee that we pay, and then it goes into a fund, and part of that is sectioned off for this grantAnd it's important because of the data that you just showed, that we have to hold people accountable and then educate. And I also think the manufacturers had a responsibility as well, when you were talking about the Kia cars.

So, it's just a discussion of how to reduce this. And then, don't ever leave your keys in your car. It makes it more difficult for people like Mr. Richardson to prosecute when they have the set of keys in the car. So, with that, thank you and appreciate your time this morning. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, commissioners. All right. Next item up is we have public works, and the first item is approve four items for the intersection improvement project of CSA 19, which is Keats Avenue and 80th Street in Cottage Grove. Ms. Blalock is here to present.

Good morning, Madam Chair and commissioners. As mentioned, my name is Erin Blalock, and I'm a civil engineer with Public Works. I'm here today to discuss the county state aid Highway 19 and 80th Street intersection project. My plan for this morning is to review the project location, project scope, received bid, provide a brief financial overview, and discuss three project agreements, which will ultimately lead to my recommendation for four board actions on behalf of Public Works. Washington County Public Works has identified in the capital improvement plan, improvements to the intersection of county state aid Highway 19, which is Keats Avenue South, and 80th Street South as RB2667, which is located entirely within the city of Cottage Grove. Traffic growth and ongoing development in this area of the county has increased traffic demand at this intersection. The current all-way stop condition does not adequately service the demand. This intersection has been evaluated in the county's Intersection Control Ranking System, ICRS, report annually since 2015, and continues to be recommended for an intersection control treatment change when compared to other intersection needs across the county system.

This location is notably along the Central Greenway Regional Trail Corridor, which intends to connect Washington County's Cottage Grove Ravine Park to Big Marine Park Reserve. On the right on this slide, you can see the intersection location located within the regional trail corridor as indicated with the blue star. The project improvements include converting the all-way stop condition to a roundabout treatment, concrete and asphalt paving, stormwater management, notably including the construction of a new pond, widening the existing Central Greenway Regional Trail within the project area, public utility improvements, installation of more lighting, and signing and pavement marking replacements. The project was posted for bids on March 13th, and bids closed on April 17th. Public Works held a public bid opening on April 17th, and one bid was received. Meyer Contracting Incorporated submitted the low bid at $4,108,932.

After review of the single bid, Meyer Contracting Incorporated was found to be a responsive and responsible bidder. Meyer Contracting Incorporated has recently performed work on seven county construction projects, five of those occurrences being as the prime contractor for us. Regarding the financials for the project, the project expenses include land acquisition, construction, and consulting costs for planning and design, totaling $5,063,000. The respective project revenue will be funded by county state aid and local contributions in accordance with the Washington County Cost Participation Policy, which totals $5,500,900.

Which means that the remaining funds for the project balance are just over $400,000.

Project agreements coordinated for the project work include, first, a cost agreement with the city of Cottage Grove, which defines design and construction responsibilities between both agencies in accordance with the county's cost participation policy. Secondly, a maintenance agreement with the city of Cottage Grove, which defines maintenance agreements between both agencies. And lastly, a cost agreement with 3M, which defines design and construction responsibilities for work scope to be performed by the county's contractor on 3M infrastructure, which lies within the project area.

Before I close with recommendations, I wanted to highlight how this project directly addresses a number of objectives within the county's strategic planThese include increasing the use of multimodal transportation by adding new sidewalk connections that are separated from the highway, maintaining a strong partnership with the City of Cottage Grove in this case, and this project will help increase our system-wide pavement condition index in the project area. With that, Public Works recommends the approval of four actions for the County Highway 19 at 80th Street South intersection project this morning. First, to approve the construction contract with Meyer Contracting Incorporated, then to approve three agreements for the project, two with the City of Cottage Grove and one with 3M. This concludes my prepared presentation, Madam Chair, and I will now stand for any questions. Thank you, Ms. Bladelock. To get this before us, I will move to approve contract number 18216 in the amount of $4,108,932.23 with Meyer Contracting Incorporated.

Second. It's been moved and seconded. So thank you so much for the presentation. This project is part of that corridor in the area that is having such growth in that the adjacent farms have sold and there's also going to be, down towards 61, additional commercial development in the future. The open houses have been fantastic and there's been a lot of engagement, and I appreciate that. So I have two questions. Can you remind me, is there going to be lights that go towards City Hall in that direction? Madam Chair, Commissioners, there is additional intersection lighting planned with the project, not additional street or trail lighting as you're maybe suggesting- Okay... towards 85th Street to the south. Okay. That helps. That was one question I have. And then I just want to let everyone watching that Tank's Corn Stand has been a top concern. And that is no joke. It is the number one question that I receive about this.

The mayor has assured me that it will be returning and will be at a location to south. So just for people to know that. So thank you, Erin. Commissioner Mira. Really nothing to add other than this is a sound investment and an improvement that's needed, and happy to support it. Commissioner Karwoski. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for the presentation. Public Works does a great job on these projects. It's one of several roundabouts we're adding. These are all part of our capital improvement plan. Chair Bigham, always appreciate your leadership in your district. Maybe one comment, and you might know this more than anybody. I have found when we decide to do a roundabout, we get those community meetings, and there are choices of stoplights and other options, and usually overwhelmingly, the roundabout's quite popular. So it's people in the area really wanting that, and we try to, within our budget, meet as many of those needs and wants as possible. Is that correct in this case?

Thank you for that question, and Ms. Bladelock can add if I forget anything. But that whole corridor, as you know on 19, and Keats is the east side, right? But anyway, there's going to be roundabouts from 61 all the way through for a couple reasons, is it's actually more when you're not stopped at stoplights idling and stuff, it's better, and then just for mobility. So, those are the, I believe, the reasons and the feedback between engineering and the community. Thank you. I'm fully supportive of the project. Thank you. Commissioner Clausen. Yes. I actually have a different opinion on that, and the more I get feedback from constituents and experts, roundabouts may help with idling, but the problem is it actually doesn't help with mobility. It actually hurts people who are blind, who are handicapped, who cannot walk through the pedestrian crossings, which actually they have to end up crossing sometimes five times to get across an intersection.

And so I think that when we are talking about urban areas, and some of the areas in District 2 are urban, that we need to consider alternatives, especially when there are people that cannot see or walk and can't press the pedestrian crossing sign. They also are poorly lit, and it is causing additional fears from drivers, from people who are going from one end to another in very populated areas. It doesn't work for everything and everybody. And Washington County as staff, we actually need to talk to each area because not every area wants a roundabout, and we can't tell them that Woodbury loves roundabouts because that's not true. Woodbury doesn't love roundabouts, and I don't think that that's a thing that staff should be telling other elected officials or other communities. So thank you. Thank you. Anything else? Commissioner Cox. Thank you, Madam Chair. Ms. Blalock, thank you for the presentation. Everything is always laid out so clearly.

I'm just very proud to work with our Public Works department. The ability for public comment and all of the things that come before an action like this are always done in such a great and professional way. So thank you to you and your team for bringing this forward. I'm happy to improve the safety at an intersection in Cottage Grove. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate your work on this, the multiple open houses, and also using engineering design standards are very important. So thank you. With that, the clerk will take the roll. It's just a motion. So- You want a roll call vote on this? Yeah. Okay. Commissioner Miron? Aye. Commissioner Karwoski? Aye. Commissioner Cox? Aye. Commissioner Clausen? Aye. Commissioner Bigham? Aye. Contract passes 5-0. Thank you. Thank you. And Madam Clerk, I apologize. I just had them noted on here as if it was a roll. I apologize on that. So, the next contract that we do not need to do roll call on is approving the cooperative cost agreement number 18148 between the City of Cottage Grove and Washington County, which I will go ahead and move.

Second. Moved and seconded. Discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Motion carries. The next one is, I will move to approve cooperative maintenance agreement number 18171 between the City of Cottage Grove and Washington County. Second. Moved and seconded. Discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Motion carries. And the final one, I will move to approve agreement number 18211 between 3M Chemical Operations LLC and Washington County. Second. It's moved and seconded. Discussion? Seeing none, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Motion carries. Thank you for those three as well. Thank you. The next item is a contract approval for 18242 on a project on CSOT four, and Mr. Mike Klein will be presenting.

Good morning, Madam Chair and commissioners. My name is Mike Klein, and I am Project Manager in the Public Works department. Today, Public Works will be recommending approval of a construction contract for the County Highway 4 Roadway Improvement project. During my presentation, I will provide an overview of the project and the construction schedule, review the project scope, review the project bids received, provide a financial overview, and close with recommended board actions. Washington County Public Works has identified a pavement reclamation project on the segment of County Highway 4 from County Highway 15 to just east of County Highway 3, which is located within May Township. And it is a rural, two-lane, undivided minor connector road, approximately 2.8 miles in length. The improvements are included in the capital improvement plan under RB2204-02. A pavement condition index of this segment of County Highway 4 is at 34, placing it squarely in the red zone. Pending board approval, construction is on track to begin later this month.

This project contains several improvements, generally grouped into four categories. First, safety. The project adds a dedicated right-turn lane at County Highway 3, which is also known as Norell Avenue, which directly reduces the potential for rear-end and turning-related crashes, supporting the county's strategic objective to reduce serious injury crashes. Second, drainage and water quality. We're replacing centerline and driveway culverts throughout the corridor to improve flow and reduce erosion. We're also adding a stormwater basin to treat runoff created by the new pavement. The basin directly advances the county's strategic goal of improving water quality and our natural resources. Third, pavement rehabilitation. The corridor will undergo full pavement reclamation where the existing pavement is recycled into base material and topped with new pavement surfacing. This significantly improves the ride quality and supports the county's objective to raise the pavement condition index. Fourth, environmental and user considerations. The project protects the existing turtle tunnel and repaves shoulders that have been used heavily by bicyclists.

These enhancements support safe multimodal use and maintain compatibility with the future Glacial Hills Regional Trail Corridor. All of these elements, safety, water quality, pavement condition, and multimodal accommodations, are direct outcomes of the county's strategic plan, and this project delivers measurable progress in each of those areas. Construction bids were opened on April 28th, and Public Works received three bids from qualified contractors, with the low bid coming from Park Construction Company in the amount of $2,457,845, which was lower than the engineer's estimate. Public Works reviewed the low bid in detail, given the variance from the engineer's estimate, and contacted Park Construction's estimators directly, who confirmed there are no errors in their bid. Park Construction indicated they received favorable pricing on bituminous materials, which makes up a significant cost on this project and accounts for the difference. County staff is confident the bid is valid and completePark Construction also has a track record within Washington County, having successfully completed work on Cass 14 and 24 intersection. That project was delivered well, and the working relationship was positive.

Public Works is comfortable recommending award to Park Construction Company as the lowest responsible bidder. On this slide, you will see a project funding overview. Project expenses on this project include planning and design, construction cost, which include the low bid from Park Construction Company, the 7% construction contingency, and project permitting totaling $2,742,200. Project revenues come from state aid, planned use of fund balance, road and bridge, and wheelage tax. Remaining funds for this favorable bid will be utilized to protect the county from potentially high remaining bids, given current market uncertainty. So to close, Public Works is recommending board approval of construction contract number 18242 with Park Construction Company in the amount of $2,457,844.91.

Madam Chair, Commissioners, this concludes my prepared remarks, and I'm happy to stand for any questions. Commissioner Miron. Thank you, Madam Chair. I will move to approve contract number 18242 in the amount of $2,457,844.91 with Park Construction Company for the Cass 4 roadway improvement project. Second. Moved and seconded. Commissioner Miron. Yeah. Thank you, and Mike, thanks for the presentation. Segment of road that's in dire need of repair, and just appreciate the focus on it, and appreciate the board's support on the project. Commissioner Cox. Thank you, Madam Chair. Great presentation, Mr. Klein. I feel like your team is starting to anticipate some of the questions that I bring, which is this bid looks great, but, oh my gosh, is it accurate? So thank you for that extra attention to a bid and for the professional work that Park has done. That just helps to hear as well. And so, I know the watershed was a part of the comment period earlier, and so here we're adding stormwater basin to treat and capture runoff.

I think everything that the Public Works department is doing is not only improving our road condition, this one's in our red zone, but also keeping that eye on natural resources, so thank you. Any other comment? Thank you, Mr. Klein. I, too, was very appreciative of the additional explanation of the differential in the bid, so thank you for that. Seeing nothing further, we will renew Commissioner Miron's motion to approve contract number 18242. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Motion carries. Thank you. Thank you. We are now onto general administration, and we will have Deputy Administrator Lucke come up and give us a legislative update. Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. As mentioned, I'm Jan Lucke, Deputy County Administrator. There is less than a week to go in the state legislative session. As I think you know, the legislature must adjourn the 2026 legislative session by midnight on the 18th. Both chambers continue to process significant policy and appropriations proposals.

According to the weekly update from Larkin Hoffman, the path to an orderly end of session remains a bit elusive as the Senate has assembled omnibus and policy and supplemental finance bills, while the House of Representatives has generally moved standalone proposals. So this creates uncertainty around how priorities and disagreements will be settled over the next few days. We continue to move forward. We received lots of phone calls, texts looking for clarification on our funding request, the language, or the process, and Larkin Hoffman team has been front and center in supporting our delegation. Our legislative tracker has not changed, so we did not hand that out this week. But there is one item not included on our tracker that we'd like to provide a brief update on today. It is the legacy bill. Normally, the legacy bill is one of the first to pass without a lot of fanfare. However, this year it has gotten a little hung up over a project in northern Minnesota and a few administrative measures in the bill.

So for awareness, and this is what we're briefing our delegation on today, the legacy bill is carrying the Minnesota Land Trust and Washington County Phase 2 Habitat Protection and Enhancement Partnership Grant awarded through the Outdoor Heritage Fund in the amount of $2.8 million. That is a very important source of match for the Minnesota Land Trust to provide matching funds for our Land and Water Legacy program. It also includes $741,000 in direct funding for Washington County. That direct funding provides critical funding to protect 120 acres of land at the Pine Needles project that you recently heard about in workshop. And it also provides critical funding for care of natural habitats. It continues the restoration enhancement work we've been doing at three natural areas in the city of Woodbury, and it provides funding for a staff person in our park system to steward our natural lands. So we have talking points around that, that we can share with you, but we are making our delegation aware that that is carried in the bill so that they can help advocate and know that that funding or that bill is really important to Washington County. And last but not least, you received an announcement from the Association of Minnesota Counties.

They're coordinating a last push, they're calling it, at the Capitol on May 14th. It's focused on our human service priorities. So if you're interested in participating in that, there is an RSVP form. They're asking county commissioners who would like to participate to complete, and it also has you select which of the human services items you would like to advocate on specifically. And you can talk to me about that, or you can also work with Molly, or not Molly, Holly or Megan, to RSVP on your behalf. So that is all I had, Madam Chair. I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Any questions? All right. Thank you very much. Thank you. Administrator Corbid, any updates? I do not, unless there are any questions for me. Any questions? All right. Seeing none, we'll move on to commissioner reports and comments. Commissioner Clausen want to start us off? Actually, could you start over there? Thanks. Okay. Commissioner Karwoski.

I'd be happy to start. Busy week. The past week, the highlights were attending my NACO, National Association of Counties membership standing committee meeting. Attended a county-facilitated water consortium meeting. Commissioner Cox was there in attendance with me. The two main presentations were, one had to do with water conservation and the other had to do with working with our watershed district for opportunities. And then, attended a Tartan High School recognition event for seniors that are really giving in their community beyond just good grades. The 622 Education Foundation sponsored that. It's always good to see our high school kids that anytime you're within their presence, you go, "The future is good in America." Attended an Oakdale area chamber luncheon. Christine Osorio, the superintendent for 622, gave a business perspective on everything that goes on in a school district. And attended the Washington County Spring Partnership meeting. Commissioner Miron and I participated in that, and that's with different school districts, chamber members. Kind of centers around career pathways for high school students.

Attended my second, for the second quarter, the Greater MSP board meeting. Really looking at affordable housing as a way to get business expansion or new businesses in the metro area. I think there is really a link between affordable housing and growing your workforce. I think that's something we'll be looking at closer. It also was announced based on our meeting two months prior that with the effects of ICE in the community and small businesses restricting their hours, people losing their... Especially in the restaurant business. At the time, two months ago, the local businesses, private businesses, had gathered $2 million that they're going to use, organizations to distribute that to allot that money in a way through some nonprofits making those decisions. But with Greater MSP memberships, which are a lot of business CEOs, they've grown that fund to $7 million. The details of how they'll distribute it is really around retail and businesses that were really hurting due to the effects of some of the ICE presence.

And then lastly, I'll end with the... Attended the Woodbury Public Safety Building expansion. Commissioner Clausen, Commissioner Bigham, and myself were there. A very exciting expansion near the Woodbury City Hall for the public safety building. Glad the county could be a partner on some of the process to get that done. There were a lot of state and federal elected there, along with a lot of good public safety officials. So thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner Cox. Thank you, Madam Chair. In the last week, I was able to attend a Solid Ground breakfast to reconnect with some of our partners from Ramsey County were there, as well as just the staff of that incredible organization. Attended the Water Consortium meeting, as Commissioner Karwoski said. I was only able to stay for the Minnesota Technical Assistance Program, but that was really interesting on how much of our water, our natural resource, was saved or can be saved, as well as the financial then impact for community businesses. So that was a great connection if a new business is starting in the community or is just looking to see if there's any savings they can squeeze out. And then had several meetings with mayors and council members, so Lake St.

Croix Beach and then Baytown Township. So thank you to the many staff members in the audience that joined me at those meetings and provided a lot of the input on what we chatted about. It was a big weekend here in Stillwater. The governor's fishing opener was Saturday morning. And so Friday night and Saturday morning, there were all kinds of events down at Lowell Park. And so not only the governor was here, Senator Klobuchar was in attendance as well, and then many legislators just from the St. Paul community. So great to say hello and to welcome people to Stillwater. Very fun. And I've heard it was the first time, and maybe not the first time, but that the governor actually caught some fish. So he caught three walleye on the St. Croix, and so it was a great morning for everyone there. I was able to attend a lumberjack landing tour, actually, with some family members of the Eippel family, and so it was really a beautiful building. It's going to be incredible once Park Service is able to move in and really welcome people to the community.

So I encourage, once the concrete is poured and everything's ready, for everyone to go visit that spot. And then last night attended the Lake Elmo Airport Advisory Commission. So that group continues to move along. And similar to some of the Pathways programs, is actually looking to see if there's a connection with the Stillwater High School on an aero pathway. So whether it's maintenance or whether it's pilots or whatever, but that's been interesting to watch kind of go along. And then Superintendent Funk of our school district here in the Stillwater community, gave some tours last night to his council on Bayport Elementary School, and then also Lake Elmo Elementary School. And so it was great to be able to walk through those, very carefully step over construction materials as it's still active construction. But those buildings are incredible, and what they will do for our school district here will be fantastic. So thank you. Sounds good. Commissioner Miron.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Had a meeting with watershed interested people, including Supervisor Andridge, who spoke to us this morning about our potential appointments to the watershed. Was in Forest Lake to celebrate the 5 million in community funding project money that came in for Cass 32 and Forest Road. The Career Pathways program was mentioned, attended that, and Stillwater High School is one of the leaders, actually, on the Career Pathways program here in Washington County, and I would say probably across the state of Minnesota. And obviously we celebrated that award that was received here a while back. But just a good meeting, continued work on the Career Pathways program. Then I met with the supervisors of the Washington Conservation District. That's all I have, Madam Chair. Thank you. Commissioner Clausen. Thank you, Chair. Happy Mother's Day, first of all. We all celebrated, some of us anyways, for mothers. And it was a great time to spend with my children and hang out in my community. And then also, this week I had a couple of community meetings, great conversations. And I did hear from a great idea that I want to pass to the board and staff, is that as we continue to grow the Gold Line, we really want to, and workforce, we really want to support early college post-secondary.

And someone had mentioned that we should really start working with the St. Paul Technical College in St. Paul. And that is one college that was completely off my radar. And it is actually highly accredited. Many people have graduated from there, including somebody I used to date. So I should have remembered this college. So I apologize to those that went to that amazing college. I also know there's other amazing technical colleges. But at the Gold Line, this is the one that we could actually have a pretty solid relationship with. And as we continue to work and grow our workforce, we have an opportunity here, and I wanted to pass that along to members. And then I did attend the public safety groundbreaking opening. It felt very that there was a lot of politicians there, to be frank. I think we lost a little bit of the local community and the importance of that in that event.

And another topic of concern has also been from these community meetings that our staff recently put a social media post on a sign that was created for Stauber, and people have been upset about the display of staff and partisanship propaganda. And so I asked communication staff today to reevaluate our social media policy so that we can make sure that staff does not broadcast politicians during campaign season. And so I think that is something we all should be supportive of. It's best practices not to, especially during controversy that is occurring from Stauber, that we don't use our platform for partisan-type displays. And as somebody who used to work in communications at this local level, that is something that we really need to add to our policies. And then along with that, I also wanted to ask staff to reconsider the R. H. Stafford Storytime event that was scheduled today that I was invited to, but it was during our meeting today, so I wasn't able to attend. And we only have three events total, and so I would like staff to consider rescheduling the storytime so I can attend that, because that would be such an honor for me as a commissioner, that it's my last year, and to have something like that to be able to attend would be amazing.

So if you would do that, that would be amazing for me. And then I also attended the State Geospatial Advisory meetings in which we are talking about how important GIS is to the metro counties and also the state. And I continue to support those very important technical positions because they play such an important part in our transportation and our public safety. And GIS is one of those hidden but very important positions. And then also, oh, forgot. Rotary Miracle Field. I'm a part of the Rotary, and the Miracle Field is opening. And we are so excited for the season. They will be newshade that was donated by the Rotary members, and we are so excited for the opening to start this week. And then also, happy Memorial Weekend. There are several celebrations that are coming up, so I'm excited to be able to attend those. Thanks.

Commissioner Miron. I just want to respond to the sign issue. We've had a consistent approach to thanking our legislators for bringing money into the county for various projects. In this particular case, a road project, and $5 million. And I appreciate that consistency of making sure that we demonstrate an appreciation for the work that's being done and for the funding that comes into the county. This has been an accepted practice for quite a number of years, probably since the community funding projects became active again. They were referred to as earmark funding. It was taken away. It came back, I believe, under President Biden. And it provides significant funding for projects that we've done in the past. And I can tell you, having been involved in this at least a couple of different times where we've provided signs to our legislators, it's just very much appreciated, and I think just a significant sign of appreciation for the work that's being done, and significant in the way of appreciation by our legislators.

Very minor when you look at the cost associated with it. Signs put together in public works by our sign department and requires a small amount of effort on that part. But it really has been received extremely well by legislators, and just appreciate the fact that we've continued that practice, and I think we should continue that as well. Commissioner Clausen. Thank you. It's not common practice, Commissioner Miron. I've worked in public service for over 16 years. No counties and cities that I've ever worked with have done that. And I have over, I don't know how many people told me at the meeting that I was at, how disappointed that they are that we can't be nonpartisan. Because the truth is, if you look at the signs that we've given out, Stauber, Angie Craig. We haven't given them out to everybody. So if we're giving it to everybody, let's do that, because everyone voted for that bill. It wasn't just Stauber.

So if we're going to do this where everyone gets a sign, then everyone gets a sign then, because he voted... Didn't he vote no for that anyways? He did. He- No... Well, some people said he did vote for it. Actually voted against it for two years in a row, and this year he voted for it. So if that's not the case, then I'll come back with the actual results, because I'm not sure why we are rewarding. This is a reward. This is a propaganda. This is actual election year. And I'm a professional that worked in public sector for a long time, and I've never seen this before. And I actually was spoken to by an elected official who wants to know why this happened, why we think this is such a great thing that he did. So apparently, Commissioner Bigham thinks he did wonderful things because you said he did all this stuff. Okay, great. I didn't see it in the votes.

So, I can't believe we do this. Commissioner Miron. Just it's interesting to be talking about partisanship when I think Commissioner Clausen is the only county commissioner on this board that sought party endorsement when she ran for county commissioner herself. But we've presented signs- Commissioner Miron, that wasn't appropriate Don't interrupt. We presented signs to- No, it wasn't... Representative McCollum on the County Road 5 and Highway 96 project. We presented a sign to Representative Craig on some work that she had done on community funding project down in your district, Commissioner Bigham, and I'm just really proud that we recognize that. And yes, it's supported by all members when they vote on these things. But these people have the ability to recommend 15 projects for funding, and they have probably hundreds of requests. And it weighs heavily on roads and bridges, public safety, and water quality issues. All of those are important to this board, and I think, as I said, just a small token of recognition.

It's ironic that this is coming up now, when we've had all three of those presentations during Commissioner Clausen's time on the board. So, I support it. I think it's an accepted practice. Washington County maybe is a leader in recognizing that, and maybe that's one of the reasons we've been successful in promoting projects here in the county, which quite honestly, this project in Forest Lake likely would not be occurringIn the form that is being planned without this $5 million in funding. It was sorely needed by the City of Forest Lake to do this project right. We've got an opportunity to do this project correctly, and we may not have another opportunity to do that in the next 50 to 75 years. So just so much appreciate the $5 million, again, that's coming in that would otherwise be borne solely by the taxpayers in Washington County and Forest Lake. Okay. Thank you. Commissioner Claussen. I appreciate your opinion, Fran. I've known Commissioner Miron since 2008, where I was a staff person under Hugo, and I did feel like you were a partisan then, and you were very Republican.

And so I'm glad that I've been able to have that opportunity because you just basically told me that I'm that way. So I've worked with you, and I felt like I had to be a certain political leaning to be a staff person, and I don't want our staff to feel like they have to have a political leaning in order to be able to move up in Public Works. Because how do I know that Wayne Sandburg also doesn't have a political leaning? How do I know that Woodbury is now not as targeted? Because if you said this, then it must really bother you that I ran as a DFL candidate. So are you utilizing that against me so that we don't get projects? So there's a lot more to this now, that I'm actually questioning things. So I appreciate your honesty, but I don't think that's how local government, and especially ICMA, would disagree with the guidelines that you're putting forward today. Because there is people who really do love local government because it isn't partisan. It's nonpartisan.

So thank you. All right. So for my week, I had meetings with legislators and staff on a variety of different topics, from Public Works down to Social Services. I attended the public safety groundbreaking, which is an incredible opportunity for law enforcement for recruitment and retention, and also just modernizing one of the largest communities in the state. So for their law enforcement, and appreciate that. Public safety, because they'll be fired too. We had the audit committee meeting, and we will also have one in June. And we had a Great River Rail meeting. We are going to do a strategic plan in June. And then I think I'm just going to remind the board that we shouldn't talk partisan politics at the dais, and I would hope that we could have the conversations where we don't make staff feel uncomfortable. Particularly naming staff is not appropriate, and I hope that in the future we can remember that.

There is no board correspondence. We are going to take a break before we start the mandates and core functions part of the workshop, which will be on camera. And then we will also have one related to the county transportation sales tax funding split. Seeing no other action before the board, we are adjourned.

Oh, are you talking about Becca? I was talking about the conference call, thinking you were there.

We're on here. You're muted. Are we waiting for... All right. We are going to call to order the discussion of the 2026 mandates and core functions report. We'll pass it off to Administrator Corrid to start. Good morning, Madam Vice Chair and commissioners. I will start this process off, cover the first few slides of the presentation, and then Deputy Administrators Lucke and Wagenius will also have a role in that. Also, we ask the department heads to move up a couple rows so they can be accessible to you as far as answering questions, if you have any questions about topics in their departments. Before we get started, if you don't have a copy of your bound core mandates and functions document, we have a couple extra copies here if anybody would like one. We can get that to you. Not you, County Attorney Magnuson. Any commissioners need a book? Yep. Pass it down. Yep. We'll get that down for Commissioner Clausen.

I'll go in my office and get mine. That's okay. We've got one. If you need a chair. You're good. So commissioners, on January 27th, staff presented to the board the 2026 inventory of mandates and core functions documentFor many years, county departments have provided information on the mandated programs and functions they administer, identified the amount of levy funding for each of those programs versus the non-levy sources, and provided an estimate of the trend related to the cost increases or decreases. So because counties are a creation of the state government and organized to be mainly administrative agencies of the state, much of what we perform are services that are mandated by federal law, rule or policy, and state law and policy. This document is not meant to be an exact match to the budget document for the county or for individual departments. Costs are grouped into functional or programmatic areas. For example, estimates may be made for the administrative and support costs that may go into the delivery of a service, and those costs will show up in the program area. Other times, departments will split off the administrative costs and have a separate line.

So there's a little bit of variation you'll see when the departments report to you. So following that workshop in January, and after early discussions with board members about the 2027 budget, a number of you asked for additional discussion and information related to mandated and core functions. Today, we are starting with a broad overview of this document, a discussion on the general state-county fiscal relationship, and then setting the stage for the future workshops with the county departments by providing a countywide view of mandated and core services. Our goal as staff from this series of workshops is to do the following: give you an opportunity to ask questions about current program delivery and funding in key areas of the county budget, provide information that gives you a bit more about where we spend our money currently and what areas have mostly levy-funded services and those that get more grant dollars, fees for services, intergovernmental revenue, and are therefore less reliant on the levy for their operations.

Identify areas where we may have services that are mandated but utilize a significant amount of levy for funding those services. Oftentimes, we refer to that as kind of the underfunding or unfunding of state or federal mandates. And identify areas where the county board has used its discretion to provide funding to go beyond just the required amount. We will also identify areas, especially within the core function designation, where you as a board have chosen to fund certain programs that may not be directly tied to a state or federal law. So we hope this will better prepare you for our presentations by departments later this summer on their proposed 2027 budgets. So as I mentioned earlier, counties were created as an administrative agent of the state. We have transitioned over time to act more like general-purpose local governments. However, we are still bound by the principle that counties only have the powers exclusively granted to us by state law.

This is often referred to as the Dillon Rule. I was a little interested about who this Dillon character was, so I looked it up, Googled, AI Google. Dillon was actually a judge on the Iowa Supreme Court that ruled that local governments are strictly subordinate to the state governments that they serve and have only the powers given to them, plus those necessary to carry out those mandated services. And I guess that has been a legal decision that's kind of carried weight over time for local governments across the country.

So we must deliver the mandated service, and we have the powers necessary to do that work. Now, you might ask, are cities different than counties? And the answer to that is yes. Cities have statutory language that grants them the authority to provide for the general welfare of their community. We do not have that language in state law and are therefore much more limited than cities related to our authorities and power. Just a note that counties do have a statute that authorizes us to pass ordinances to protect the public health, which is oftentimes interpreted as broad authority for us to act in many circumstances. The other item to keep in mind as we go through these workshops is the county and state fiscal relationship. There are three main ways that we get help from those other layers of government that require us to provide services on their behalf. So those three ways are listed on this slide.

General purpose aid, you all know county program aid. There's some other general purpose aids, but they're of smaller amounts. And then we have specific purpose aid, and I just list off a number of them that come to us. Oftentimes, those are formula-driven and are allocations that are not competitive in nature and we don't need to apply for. The second item is state and federal government reimbursement for counties. Many of these are in the human services area. Examples of that are medical assistance and SNAP and others. And then finally, grants similar to aid that are provided for service delivery, but many of them are oftentimes competitive process and/or formula-driven.

Also, that state and county fiscal relationship changes periodically. It can change by providing more aid to the county, but often the most significant changes occur when we are in a period of significant stress on the property tax system. They, meaning legislators, often try to reduce the pressure of rising property taxes by taking back functions, or they pay for a greater share of the funding of certain services and programs that are at least partially funded by property taxes. My belief is we are in one of those positions now. The pressure on the property tax system is getting to a tipping point. It's happened in the past, and I give you a couple examples on the next slide. If Jan can move to that. So I give a couple examples of times when we have been in similar situations and what did they do. One was back in 1971, what was termed the Minnesota Miracle, where they reduced school funding from the property taxes significantly and reduced property taxes. There was also an effort in the late '80s, early '90s, when the states took over the courts.

That was an effort both to make the delivery of judicial services more uniform throughout the state, but it also took off those rising court costs from county budgets and the state took them over. I'd also note that when that happened, they also took state aid from us to offset the cost in the year it occurred. Probably one of the most significant ones was back in 1991, what was termed the Income Maintenance Takeover. I don't know all the details of that, but in general what that did, it was basically said the state's going to pay for a lot of the benefits that are provided through human services programs. Administrative costs were left at the county level in many cases, but the idea was county property taxes wouldn't pay for the actual benefits that were going to individual residents. And then oftentimes, what's more common than not is when these attempts are made to buy down property taxes, they usually go to the schools, and they look at ways to reduce the cost of schools on the property tax and take those more on from the state government. So there've been various years of this occurring.

I just note that because, again, I think that the talk at the state legislature this year has been considerable around the level of property tax increases that have happened over the next couple of years. Counties especially have done a good job of identifying that we are in a stressful position related to federal cost shifts that may happen in the next couple of years. And so I think there's active efforts at the legislature to look at what the property tax system is being asked to bear and whether or not they need to make some more significant changes to that over the next couple of years. So I just note that because I think it can play into this discussion about what's mandated and what's required by counties. So with that, I will turn it over to Deputy Administrator Lucke to go through some of the countywide numbers. Thank you, Kevin. As mentioned, Jan Lucke, Deputy Administrator.

The next four slides are intended to refresh our memories on organizational revenue, expense, and FTEs. This slide and the next are taken from the 2026 budget presentation last fall, with this slide showing the breakdown of sources that comprise total county revenue. Key takeaways from this slide is that the county net levy accounts for approximately 34% of total county revenue, and non-levy revenue accounts for 55% of total county revenue. Non-levy revenue includes other taxes, license and permits, intergovernmental revenue, fees for service, interest earnings, and miscellaneous revenue. Here we see the breakdown of county expenses. Personnel services by far is the county's largest expenditure category, comprising over 42% of total county expenditures. Capital outlay is the next largest expenditure category in 2026. However, this category varies year to year because capital projects do not have a linear spending pattern. This can create significant year-to-year swings in all categories. This slide is also lifted from the 2026 budget presentation.

It is showing the breakdown of the county's 1,476.77 full-time equivalent employees by department. You also see here there was a nominal increase in total FTEs from '25 to '26, meaning the approximate $13 million increase in personnel expenses in '26 went mainly to increase wages and benefits for existing employees. This chart demonstrates levy-to-budget ratio. Departments that receive most of their revenue from levy are clustered at the top of the chart. This includes nearly all the internal services. Departments that have a large amount of external funding, such as federal or state grants, or in the case of Public Health and Environment, the revenue from the county environmental charge, they're clustered at the bottom of the chart. I'm now going to pass the baton to Jennifer Wagenius, Deputy Administrator, who will provide a high-level summary and comparisons related to services classified as mandates or core functions.

Good morning. Jennifer Wagenius, Deputy County Administrator. Approximately every two years, Washington County prepares the Mandates and Core Functions document that analyzes the work of our organization. While the Mandates and Core Functions document is prepared with the preliminary annual budget as a source, the costs included in the analysis don't mirror the budget exactly and should be considered estimates based on what is known at the time of the report. The numbers also vary from the final adopted budget due to the removal of duplicated costs, such as internal rent that appears within individual departments and in public works, or technology costs appearing in department budgets and our capital technology fund. There is some art or judgment mixed in with the math and science of this analysis. For example, issuing debt is not mandated, but if the county issues debt, the repayment and how we account for that is mandated. And there are several core functions that are supports necessary to provide mandated services, such as our facilities, technology, and legal services. Generally, over 80% of the county's functions are defined as mandated, with about 20% as core function, and a small sliver noted as other services.

The Washington County ratios did vary from this standard during the construction of Gold Line due to the size of the capital expenditure and the definition of that project as a core function. The other services that are not considered mandated or core functions include, but are not limited to, the employee recognition program, gravel tax administration, and programs such as the Explorers and Adopt a Highway. Due to the small dollar amount of those items, they will not be a focus of the workshop series. The funding for expenditures within the county budget comes from a variety of sources, as Jan noted during the budget overview. This chart shows a dollar estimate of the levy versus non-levy funding for mandated and core functions. Some of what is driving the large dollar amount of non-levy funding in the mandated services within our most recent report is the capital road and bridge projects. Non-levy revenue consists of licenses and permit fees, intergovernmental revenue, fees for services, and other taxes such as wheelage tax and the county transportation sales tax.

Within the 2026 budget that this report is based on, the county expects 149 million in intergovernmental revenue, which is around 34% of our total budget. This pie chart breaks down the distribution of cost for mandated and core functions within the report by department or function. The large share of mandated capital project costs reflects 100 million of road and bridge projects. All of those road and bridge capital projects are non-levy funding, which is skewing the percentages on this graphic. To better reflect operating costs and avoid skewing this graph, the mandated non-levy funding for road and bridge capital projects were removed from this visual that notes the dollar amount of mandated services by department, with the full line reflecting the department's budget, the green or bright portion of the line reflecting levy funding, and the gray or shaded part of the line representing non-levy funding. And here we have a similar visual of the core function costs.

Of note, the scale between the two graphs is different. With this graph going up to $16 million and the graph on the prior slide going to $60 million, reflecting the smaller percentage of non-mandated functions within the organization. In addition to the non-levy funded road and bridge projects mentioned and the levy-funded debt service for payments on past capital investments as shown here, the top mandated services by cost, sorted most levy to least levy contribution, are largely public safety services mandated by the state, including adult detention, general patrol, the emergency communication response or 911 dispatch center, the sheriff's department special services, which includes records, fleet, and the public safety system, adult prosecution by the county attorney's office, criminal investigative work, adult probation, supervision, notification, and testing, and the court security that the sheriff is required to provide for state court services that occur on the county campus. Also in that top 10 is the minimum level of support the county is required to invest in library services in order to be eligible for the regional library system support, which is Melsa's primary funding source for the shared services that are provided to our combined community.

Within the top core functions, we have non-mandated capital project funds that generally reflect the county's facility investments, such as the capital redirect for Park Grove, Stafford Library, and the Central Yard Waste Site, with some offset shown here on that project from the county environmental charge. The amount of funding for the provision of public library services above the mandated minimum maintenance of effort funding. Several information technology functions with IT administration reflecting information technology governance, financial management and contract management, infrastructure representing servers, network services, equipment, and firewalls, enterprise support services referring to endpoint computer purchasing, asset management support, and patching. In the community services department, there are internal administrative supports, which include complex accounting, community navigators, and policy analysts. Other administrative expenses include technology, professional development, and other support activities for the mandated and core function services provided by that department, along with the co-response program shown as well. Also within the top core function is the legal counsel.

The county attorney's office provides the county departments on a myriad of topics, including contracts, right-of-way acquisition, and tax court value appeals, to name a few. And finally, the core function in public works that reflects internal rent and the technology department for the department services. As noted, today's workshop is intended to provide a high-level overview of the systems, structures, and scope of the mandated and core functions countywide. Over the next several weeks, each department will provide a deeper review. In addition to sharing the data included in the report, those workshops will create space for discussion and feedback from the board about the county's investment in different aspects of the work. While the county's responsibilities are largely prescribed, there is often flexibility in how the work is done. Generally, this series will be an opportunity to consider and reconsider service expectations and innovative work in the organization, often with the use of grant funds, to expand our reach or provide upstream services that reduce expenses long term. With that, we're happy to address any questions that may have arisen this morning. Thank you.

Thank you all for the presentations, and we'll start with Commissioner Bigham. Thank you to both of our deputies and the department heads, because I know this is concerning within the budget probably for the next two years that we're moving forward in. So just want to validate that and appreciate the work that we're all going to embark on here. My question is, are we considering the future mandates that we know take effect in 2027, I guess I would say, that are being shifted onto us if the legislature doesn't help? I can think of some public works items. I could definitely think of some social service programs, some community correction programs. And I know that the last segment here talks about the rank of the trend, and that is super helpful. But I'm just wondering if we are, as we're going through these, considering we have more coming onto our books. Madam Vice Chair, Commissioner Bigham, the document that the departments are preparing works from the mandate core function document that was prepared based on the 2026 budget.

Okay. But we can certainly ask the department heads to do some foreshadowing and address that with the county board as they're presenting in the coming weeks. Yeah. And Madam Chair, I just think the other note I guess I would like to mention is there's a lot of these core functions that are provided by grant. They're funded by grant, either from the state or feds. Sometimes it's 100%, sometimes it's not, and it's the same thing for mandated programming. And you really have to be thoughtful in any adjustments to that, because if any of the percentage is covered by a grant, you're just throwing that money back into the pool, into the kitty, for other entities to receive. So, you've just got to be comprehensive about any adjustments that you're making in programming. A lot of these programs are, some of them I should say, are 100% funded by a grant. And so you don't want to adjust that if you're going to lose the grant money.

Thank you. Mm-hmm. Any other comments? Commissioner Clausen. I will ask questions like I normally do. So I think what I really need to know is what the priorities are going to be in the areas that we have on here, but I don't know if that's going to be continued if the board has different priorities. So I'm wanting to know today what our priorities are of the board and what we're working towards for the budget. Because if we have ongoing struggles, as we just discussed, what do we believe that we need to focus on? Now, if it's community services and we need to make sure that we're securing that area, then we should talk about it today. Or is there other areas that we have money allocated to right now that we should change? These are the kind of conversations that I'm hoping that I get from the board. Would anyone like to respond to this question? Commissioner Bigham.

I think, just like I previously mentioned, that if you have grant money, you're not going to want to remove that. And we have grant money throughout across the whole budget. And so I think not using a hammer approach on it is the best one, and I think to use a fine-tooth comb or a scalpel to see if there's anything we want to adjust. But I think that's also going to be indicative of the individual department presentations about this that the administrator had mentioned. So, I think the grant money is at least an indicator to me of where we would want to be protective of for receiving grant money. Madam Chair and Commissioner Clausen, certainly the budget process is the typical event that allows the board to set its priorities, and that will start with the presentation to the board in late July of the recommended budget. But what we had heard from commissioners is that as we were talking about the potential parameters around a '27 budget, I think just what you said, Commissioner, is that if our priorities are going to include things like covering cost shifts that are going to come towards us in certain programs, or costs that are being passed on to us through the greenhouse gas requirement or whatever those things are, there was a desire for the board to look at current spendingAnd to figure out where we can look as making adjustments if our priorities do shift.

I think one of the messages we're trying to get across here is to show you where programs lie as far as how they're currently funded. Because sometimes you'll hear county boards say, not just our county board, but county boards in general, "We should do less of this." And oftentimes that this is fully funded by other resources and has no effect on the levy. Or that they'll say, "We want to do more of this," and it might depend on whether or not it is non-levy funded or if it creates a new levy source. So the idea about this workshop series was to better prepare you for the discussions around priorities when we bring the budget forward by having you look at the current spending and allow you to get questions asked, or just more information about how we're currently paying for what we're currently doing. So, not trying to sway anybody at this point, but just more of an educational process.

I'm happy to respond to your question too, if you'd like that. If you are going to respond, otherwise, I have other questions. I was going to ask the board first their priorities and then talk about mine and then go forward. Well, I'm happy to share. I think right now is just a time of, unfortunately, waiting to see what is still to be passed down to us. So I don't know that I have something that's going to rise to the top to say, "I want to protect this with everything I possibly can." Because I think there are so many of the mandated pieces that we have to continue doing, and clearly a lot of them are public safety related. That was a very helpful chart to see. And so I understand the grant protection, protecting that makes a lot of sense too. And so I guess I'm waiting and seeing what is still to come. Commissioner Clausen, if you'd like to continue.

Yeah. I'm on page 17, and it has on here Land and Water Legacy Program. It has on here website, performance measurements, some of which are core functions, yes, but not mandated, and internal audits. And so there's a couple of items on here that I just wanted to state that I think are very important. Internal auditing obviously is a very important function. I'm not sure why that's not mandated, but in this page 17, it says it's not. And I know it's a small amount of money, but I just want to go through these since this is a part of administration, and administration can have interesting projects that are assigned to them at times. And so I just want to state that I am very much in favor of those non-mandated areas, internal audit, policy analysis, records management, process improvements, all areas that are extremely important to government. Land and Water Legacy Program, I do not believe we have the funds for that. I also don't think the program provides enough assistance to developed lands, and that's a majority of the population, and I don't think we have that quite figured out. But I am supportive of the Climate Action Plan.

And I really wanted to talk about the importance of protecting our environment and making sure that we're able to maintain what we do have in our natural resources. We have 2,000 acres of park land, and we need to do our due diligence in protecting that. Land and Water Legacy Program, as I heard from staff, is primarily just for non-developed land to those that have acres that they'd want to be able to conserve. And that is not many from my district as well as District 2. So, unless we can come up with a better plan that's more comprehensive and includes more of the voting taxpayers, I don't think I'm going to be as supportive of that coming up here. Public information, employee communication, I think we really need to invest more in PR. With strikes and with other communication difficulties, I do feel like we need to have an expert that we can consult with in PR and have that not be a selection of one person of staff. I would like it to actually go through a bid and make it a bigger position than it is.

And then website operations. We're not done with website operations. We still are going through the website, making sure it's searchable and that the navigations have improved. But I know that's still in the middle of that project, and so I wanted to state that here because it's not part of the mandate that I'm in favor of it. And then I'm also in favor of performance measurements on this page. And so, performance measurements is how we are able to create policies and job descriptions for staff so that they stay accountable, and these help us also show constituents what our staff does and what they work on. So, another part of the mandate that says right here that it's not, but I just wanted to state that I'm very much in supportive of it. Other things that are not mentioned on this budget is recycling and energy, which is another part of the puzzle that we don't talk about in this section of the budget.

But when I think about environment, I think about climate action. I also think about recycling and energy and the amount of time and money, through CEC, that goes through that. And so, that's why another reason Land and Water asking for 40 million in a bond, to me during this time, would be very difficult for constituents to pass. And, I'm really appreciative of the mention, I believeI wrote it down here on the grant money that we're getting. Oh, I don't know where I had it, but I know that there was some greenhouse grants, and we talked about other grant money that could be a part of this too. But those are my questions right now, and I just wanted to see if staff also felt like page 17 was something that they could support or not support. Madam Chair and Commissioners, I appreciate looking at the admin department page, and certainly we are a small department.

The dollar amounts are pretty small, but I think what Commissioner Clausen just did was validate the importance of this document, right? It gets more detail for the commissioners to look at and decide if there are things that are non-mandated and that we consider core are things that the board wants to continue to support. I think what you'll find as we go through these department documents, you're going to find most of our spending is on mandated services. Most of our spending is on core functions that support those mandated services, and there aren't a lot of things that we do that either we aren't required to do, or we feel that there's really strong support from the board to continue. And so I think that discussion that Commissioner Clausen just had, I think, validates that as why this tool is important and what can happen as we go through the department workshops here in the next couple of weeks.

One note, just to identify where there's some art and science to this, our internal audit function is listed as a line item. We are required to do an audit. I know. We are required to do the external audit, but we aren't required to have an internal- Internal... auditor. Correct. And so I think those are some of the differences and the nuances that we're able to explain in these kind of documents. Now, most departments that are larger than admin are probably not going to be able to have detail like this in their document because they just are so big that they're going to be bigger dollar amounts, bigger programs lumped together. So it's not that same level of detail throughout the departments, mostly just because of size. Yeah, and that's why I actually talked about the admin department because that is something that happens a lot when something doesn't fit in, admin gets the project. And so sometimes they do have projects that are not mandated.

Any other follow-up or questions? Commissioner Miron. Thank you, Madam Chair. I guess there's just a couple of things that struck me is, first of all, we pride ourself in our staff, our employees, the people that work for us and provide the services to the people we represent, and that's 50% of our total. So obviously very, very important. The other thing that struck me is, Kevin just alluded to and talked about was, 98% of our funds are mandated or core functions. So we've got very little discretionary spending outside of what's mandated and what we believe is a core function. And then as we look at our largest full-time equivalent areas for our personnel, it's within health and public service, and a couple of areas that we focused on and as a board we've supported. So it'll be interesting to go through the budget process. I agree with you, Commissioner Cox, that we've yet to see what the impacts of the legislative session are going to have.

We still, as Commissioner Bigham pointed out, '27 and '28, in my opinion, are going to be outlying years that we don't have a lot of direction for right now, but I think all of us are concerned about that. We recognize the potential impact there, and I think Commissioner Bigham made a good point of making sure that the funds that we need to leverage those grant opportunities that are out there or may be out there is something that we need to focus on. We had a report at today's board meeting about the auto theft program. We saw some really great results from that, that ultimately, I think help reduce some of our other costs associated with county services, and so making use of those grants is critical in my mind. And so we do have to look at those opportunities and make sure that we at least have the funding matches to utilize those grants that have broader impacts on the services that we provide. So it'll be an interesting process, and we focused a lot in recent years on our IT, and I think that was prudent. I think we're in a good position with respect to IT and protecting our data, our security at the county level.

And I think we've done a lot of other good things that we've focused on in recent years to position us probably as well as we could be right now under the economic circumstances that Kevin talked about earlier. So-It'll be interesting discussion as we go through the department presentations, and just have a lot of respect for the recommendations that the department heads will be bringing forward. Thank you. Commissioner Karwoski? Well, a lot of good comments from the board. Really, we review this mandate and core function each year, and as mentioned, mandated, we don't have an option not to do those. I think there's enough core functions that are important to us, but I think as mentioned, when we start looking at the budget and the reality of federal cuts, any state cuts, we really have to figure out. I don't think we can continue to maybe leave the core functions a larger list as it has been.

Elections have consequences, and I don't think we can just simply pass on reductions of funding from federal and state. We've got to figure out a way to look at those core functions and try to not pass on increased property taxes to our constituents. Easier said than done. And so really, this is a great document that gives us facts on where we're at now, and we really have to compare it to our budget, and they go hand in hand. Madam Chair, just one reaction to Commissioner Karwoski's, and something to think about as the departments come forward is, you mentioned we don't have much choice in the mandated services area, and that's correct as far as we have to provide that service. One of the things you'll hear about from departments is that there is some discretion on how or how much or how many or to whom, and I think those are the kind of questions that if we don't identify a whole bunch of easy things we can do to reduce costs, if that's what you're looking for to do, it really becomes to reduce some of these services in these mandated services areas.

And what they'll point out to you is there's a cost to that in the service impact to the customers that we serve. So they'll not just identify those things, but be able to talk about, "Well, what's the impact of that?" If you reduce some preventive service, you're going to have higher costs down the road in auto home placements or something in those areas. So I think that's the kind of discussions we can help you with in the next month or so, so you have a better idea if there are places where you want us to look at, what are the impacts of making changes in funding in those areas as well. Oh, Commissioner Clausen. Yeah. I recently had a conversation with a staff member that stated it is not mandated that we have a driver's license center and vital statistics, passports, and other type of administration functions like that. Is that something in which, because I was told that, and I am looking at it under non-mandated, and I see a amount of 4 million about.

We obviously put an enormous amount of investment into the central service center in Woodbury, but the wait times are still at two hours and 40 minutes. And so I guess what I'm asking is when we are presented on the budget, I would also like to know some of the difficulties that they've had in servicing their departments. I think it's really important for us to go through that, and also to see the amount of expense that is occurring on that end. And so I know that we get certain funding from that too, so it's important that we provide that service. But maybe the question is, do we need to provide the same service in every service center? Maybe there's more opportunity than with the changes to with central service center being added, would there be any opportunity for different hours and different services to try and decrease some of that? And the only reason I bring it up is because staff brought it up to me first, so I'm thinking that it's going to be something we discuss.

And so if that is something we're discussing, I'm going to want specific information on that, especially when it comes to elections. I do not want elections to have any cuts, any budget concerns or constraints at a time when we have a lot of pressure on staff. You said art and science, but there's also an art and science on how we deal with people who are doing these jobs, and everything they do is so important. So as we talk about these services, and we talk about someone's position, or talk about the adjustments that we're going to make, people get really scared, and they keep everything really close to their vests and their staffers. And I've been a staff person for 12 years, and I've been through the ups and downs of programs being canceled and some of my responsibilities being taken away because we can no longer provide the services. And so I just ask that staff tell us those concerns and help us bring us along in the journey that we're going to have over the budget. And I really implore that my commissioners bring solid, good questions because we have a lot of constituents who are expecting us to ask these questions for them so they're getting the best services possible. Thanks.

Deputy Administrator Wagenius? Madam Vice Chair, Commissioner Clasen, Director Stenftenagel is prepared to talk about the license center services during her presentation. Also, that same presentation day, board day, we're planning a more in-depth workshop separately from this overall mandates and core functions discussion on the license center services to get feedback from commissioners on expectations around service times, and share some of the challenges and things that Commissioner Clasen has alluded to. Thank you. Well, I'll just wrap up with just a couple of comments. First of all, a huge thank you to Cy and Truong, who are sitting next to our county administrator. This budget would not come together without them. So a very large thank you to them and all the other leaders that are sitting in this room with us today for putting an extra five presentations together to help us understand what's coming and what the budget is going to look like. And in full disclosure, I have more reading to do.

I was flipping through this book just today and found that WIC, so Women, Infants, and Children, and I see Deputy Director Tim back there, is not a mandated service. And I cannot imagine the public outcry if, as Washington County, we were to say we're no longer supporting and funding WIC. So there's a lot in this program, and there's a lot in this document that I look forward to reading a little bit more thoroughly, and then to the next presentations that will start closer to July. So thank you everyone for being here, and we'll take a few minutes as we transition to our next workshop in the conference room. Thank you.