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If there’s a piece of land that is owned by Chisago County and you have an interest in acquiring the parcel— now might be a good time to get serious.  The county commissioners met in a workshop session May 14 to focus on some lingering assets-housekeeping and the county owned but un-used parcels was one of these topics.

 Auditor-Treasurer Bridgitte Konrad told the Board there’s 123 parcels she is aware of and some of which are known to be “problem” properties which need priority attention.  At one time they may have been old gravel pits or may have housed dilapidated structures, but staff has inherited them from previous administrations and are itching to tie up the loose ends.

The commissioners saw the value in clearing these files and perhaps making a little revenue from sales.  The County Board asked staff to notify any other government units who may have been cooperating with the county, when these properties were useful.  The Department of Natural Resources also gets first refusal on specific categories of parcels.

Commissioner Marlys Dunne remarked that if there are willing buyers, which Konrad mentioned she has had contact with, these are ideal properties to get started with.

The Board also gave the go-ahead to contract with Above All Tree Care to remove a hazardous tree on a small problem county parcel in Stacy.  This tree is posing a liability and the small lot it’s on isn’t selling, probably because nobody wants to deal with the tree.

 The main discussion then veered into anxiety over what the state budget will end up looking like.  As the entity that provides the state services to the people, counties must do what the state puts in law—but frequently there’s not enough money to carryout these mandates.

The commissioners listened to proposed state budgeting reductions but until a budget is enacted, there was little to be done.  The session in St Paul ended Monday this week and there are many issues yet to be hammered out in conference committees.

Be conservative in approaching the 2025-26 year, was the direction county leaders agreed upon. 

Board Chair Dan Dahlberg, Rush City, commented the county can not control what is sent by state lawmakers.

County Administrator Chase Burnham and department heads described some of the bigger fiscal pain that could be coming.  

A small reduction in how much the state chips in for costs for mental illness and treatment/commitments  may result in a county financial burden of thousands of dollars per day. 

There is a proposal to eliminate “cannabis aid” as part of the state budget, which was supposed to be dispersed to local governments with cannabis businesses and ag operations in their midst.  The aid would come from new cannabis industry revenues collected overall by the state.  Local governments have expenses with land use and zoning tasks to facilitate the new industry and now these may not be shared.

Health and Human Services also has a host of programs  charged to federal, state and local taxpayers.  Minnesota is considering changes in the funding formulas for services like sex offender treatment stays, disability healthcare waivers, mental health providers, and others  that will result in increases locally, in a number of long term and healthcare services.     

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