St. Cloud Approves 2022 Budgets

(KNSI) – St. Cloud has approved its operating and enterprise budgets for 2022 at Monday night’s city council meeting.

The council voted for a $79 million operating budget and a $50.8 million enterprise budget. There will be a 4% spending increase in the new budget for public safety and infrastructure spending .St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis says responders to the city’s community surveys say public safety, road conditions, and traffic congestion are the highest priorities.

“This is where our priorities are and we focused on in this year’s budget. We’re adding an additional four police officers. We’re actually paying for an additional seven. We’ve added security in our parking system and the ramps. Next year, we’re doing a record amount of road resurfacing. The most that the city has seen in 20 years. And that’s reflected in this budget.”

As part of the budget, St. Cloud State University is no longer paying for three university officers. Instead, the city of St. Cloud is absorbing that cost.

St. Cloud residents will pay more for garbage pickup after the city council approved the 2022 enterprise budget. Garbage carts will be increased by $2.50 a month over two years. It’s the first increase to the cart fee in more than 20 years. St. Cloud is increasing the cost for special garbage pickup from $10 to $20 per request.

St. Cloud also approved increasing wastewater fees by $1.90 per unit over four years. The street light utility fee is also increased by $0.20 a month over four years.

No changes are being proposed to fees for the River’s Edge Convention Center and the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex.

Monday night’s meeting was the last in its old chambers. St. Cloud is moving to the former Tech High School building near Lake George. Renovations on the building are nearly complete. The first city council meeting in the new building on January 24th.

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