By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
The Rice County Board of Commissioners will hold its Truth in Taxation meeting tomorrow night at 6pm at the Government Services Building in Faribault. The meeting is for public input only; approval of the budget and tax levy will occur at one of the remaining Board of Commissioners meetings this year.
The county is currently considering an 8.7% increase in the tax levy; the overall levy is $43.2 million, up $3.4 million. The property tax levy accounts for just 42% of the county’s budget, with $38 million in county aid from the State of Minnesota. In September, County Administrator Sara Folstad told the Board of Commissioners that it was a decline in revenue from the state that was causing part of the tax increase:
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“We did have an infusion or the legislature provided more money a few years back for additional program Aid and that didn’t change for this year but what we get is based on formula for how our county is either performing or the demographics of our County compared to other counties in the state so you have two parts to County Program Aid you’ve got County Need Aid and County Tax Base Equalization Aid.” – Sara Folsted, Rice County Administrator at the 9/16/2025 Committee Meeting of the Whole
After two years of increases, county aid from the state will be about $143,000 lower in 2026. County staff cited higher personnel costs and increased health insurance expenses as the primary drivers of the tax increase. Additionally, legislative changes at the state and federal levels have reduced county revenue and added mandated services. In October, County Commissioner Galen Malecha told an audience at a League of Women Voters Forum that changes in Federal Funding and new mandates would mean an increase in costs at the county levy, in future years:
“The stress that our employees are under, the Human Services Department, it is unbelievable because they’re trying to figure out how to help all these people. And yet they are in a box from our federal government. And the federal government’s putting them in this box because of them in the shutdown, but also changing the rules of requirements.” – Galen Malecha, Rice County Commissioner; The Effect of Medicaid Changes on Our Community Forum Recording on 10.28.2025
The largest expenses in the county are Human Services at 25% of the budget, followed by Public Safety and the Sheriff’s Office at 20%, roads and bridges at 17%, and General Government at 14%.
This year’s levy increase is higher than in most years. Over the past 10 years, the average County Tax Increase has been 6.5%. Last year’s levy was the highest in that time span due to the construction of the county’s new Public Safety Center and Jail.
The Truth in Taxation meeting begins on Thursday at 6pm at the Rice County Government Service Building. The Board of Commissioners will approve the tax levy at a later meeting in December.
