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Digging into the data

State auditor helps officials take closer look at data and trends affecting cities, counties, townships

Photo by Deb Gau State Auditor Julie Blaha made a stop in Marshall Tuesday as part of her listening tour.

MARSHALL — They were looking through data showing trends in local government revenue, spending and debt across the state of Minnesota. But a panel of officials meeting with State Auditor Julie Blaha said sometimes, the graphs on the slides didn’t tell the whole story.

“In comparing cities, sometimes it’s tough because every city has different needs,” said Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes.

As the State Auditor’s Office analyzes financial data for counties, cities and townships over the past 20 years, area officials and government finance workers said it could be helpful to get into more detail. Looking at information like the sources of local government revenue, and how local governments deal with debt, would give people a clearer picture of their communities’ finances, they said.

Blaha said that was the kind of feedback she was looking for, as she made a stop on a “State of Main Street” listening tour on Tuesday.

As part of the listening tour, Blaha was sharing information on financial trends for cities, counties and townships. Local leaders could tell her how those trends affect their day-to-day operations. She hoped the process would help shape a report that will be presented to the public in February.

“We want to get it out as wide as we can,” Blaha said. “We want people talking about local government.”

The Office of the State Auditor doesn’t just oversee finances for local governments in Minnesota, Blaha said. The office also studies and reports on government financial data.

“Our data section is a really important part of what we do,” she said.

The three main sets of information Blaha shared included data on local government revenues, expenditures, and reserves and debt over the past 20 years. One big trend for counties, cities and townships across Minnesota is they are relying more on property taxes as revenue.

Starting in the mid-2000s, “That’s where we start to see it change,” Blaha said.

Local officials said decreases in Local Government Aid and County Program Aid over the years were one influence on property taxes. Without state aid, many smaller communities have to rely on other sources of revenue.

“We can really see a lot of value in LGA,” said Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson.

While the proportion of local governments’ property tax revenue has gone up since 1998, Lyon County and Marshall city officials said they have tried other ways to help keep property taxes from going up. Both the county and Marshall have introduced local option sales taxes.

However, a Wood Lake resident in the audience said other area cities didn’t have that option. For example, he said, Wood Lake has seen a loss in its tax base and in local industry.

“It seems a lot of things are coming to regional centers,” he said.

Chippewa County Auditor/Treasurer Michelle May said Chippewa County also tries to make use of grant funding to help with public projects like road and bridge work, and bike trails. However, grant funding also has limits, officials said. Beth Wilms, director of Southwest Health and Human Services, said a big question for SWHHS is whether grant funding will be sustainable.

May also said sometimes local government expenditures in different areas were connected. In Chippewa County, increased mental health issues and drug use doesn’t only impact health and human services costs, but law enforcement and public safety costs.

“There are issues that have a ripple effect through the community,” May said.

Blaha said area officials raised some good questions, that could help shape how the data is presented to the public next month.

“Where the (revenue) dollars come from is an interesting one,” she said.

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