St. Cloud Sets Preliminary Budget, Tax Rate Remains Flat

(KNSI) – After approving its preliminary budget on Monday, St. Cloud is hiring more officers, doubling road projects, and isn’t raising the tax rate to do it. St. Cloud’s tax rate will remain unchanged, which means your city taxes will only increase if you built onto your home or your home’s value increased.

The St. Cloud City Council approved collecting $79 million in local property taxes and fees to cover more than half of St. Cloud’s $127 million budget in 2022. The rest of the money comes primarily from federal and state funds. Mayor Dave Kleis says he takes forming the budget very seriously.

“To me, it’s the most important thing. The most important responsibility I have as mayor is to present a budget to the city. I do that in August. It’s because it reflects the values of the city and priorities.”

He said St. Cloud made significant budget cuts last year due to revenue lost because of COVID, but the city isn’t throwing that burden on residents.

“This year, we’re not increasing that burden on folks. People say you’re not raising taxes; you’re raising fees. No, there are no fee increases in this budget either, and there were no fee increases in last year’s budget. So we’re doing things differently.”

He says St. Cloud was able to make cuts and delay projects to hit its budget targets. Kleis says that includes taking care of the city’s top priorities, including public safety.

“We’re actually paying for seven additional police officers, but we’re adding four. The university and the tech colleges used to pay for three of those officers but will no longer. So, we’re not going to reduce or defund what we’re doing. Our commitment is still to public safety.”

The other top priority is roads. Kleis says St. Cloud is doubling the amount of road resurfacing in 2022 compared to 2021.

“We’re doing over 20 miles of road resurfacing and reconstruction. Last year we just did under 10, So we’re more than doubling what we’re going forward. In fact, next year’s road resurfacing will be a record for the city.”

Kleis says the budget focuses on the city’s core services, such as public safety and infrastructure.

The final budget will be approved in December after a final public hearing. Residents can weigh in on the budget anytime between now and the final approval.

See St. Cloud’s proposed budget by clicking here.

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