At its February 17, 2025 regular meeting, the Pope County Board of Commissioners adopted a set of County Legislative Priorities to share with Minnesota state legislators during the 2026 session, including the prevention of cost-shifts to local taxpayers for state-mandated services, preservation of local property tax relief through County Program Aid, funding for rural transportation infrastructure, and keeping solid waste tax revenue from being diverted to general fund purposes. A full explanation of the priorities is provided below:
Prevent Additional Cost-Shifts for State-Mandated Services.
Pope County is concerned that state budget decisions will continue to shift the cost of mandated human services to counties, forcing property tax increases as the only available funding mechanism. The State should not balance its budget challenges or federal cost shifts by increasing the burden on county property taxpayers.
Protect County Program Aid (CPA).
County Program Aid provides essential property tax relief for state-mandated services. Without CPA, Pope County property tax levies would increase by at least 6% on average. Any reduction or elimination of CPA is a direct tax increase on local property taxpayers and should be avoided.
Provide Adequate, Equitable Funding for Rural Transportation Infrastructure.
Over 90% of Minnesota’s road miles and 80% of its bridges are owned by local governments, yet current funding is insufficient to maintain them. Pope County supports increased, dedicated funding for rural transportation, expanded use of bonding for rural projects, and local option sales tax reforms that do not disadvantage rural areas.
Dedicate Solid Waste Management Tax Revenue to Its Intended Purpose.
Counties rely on Solid Waste Management Tax (SWMT) revenue to fund SCORE programs and meet state waste management goals. As originally intended, 100% of SWMT revenue should be dedicated to waste management, not diverted to general fund purposes.
Additional Concerns
- Protect county-based purchasing to ensure access to quality health care and support local providers.
- Promote child care availability to strengthen local economies and workforce retention.
- Preserve local control over land use decisions.
- On behalf of all counties, support increases to PILT payments and continuation of Border-to-Border broadband funding.
The Pope County Board will be sharing its concerns with legislators as part of the members’ attendance at the 2026 Association of Minnesota Counties Legislative Conference in St. Paul from March 3 to March 5.
A copy of the Board’s 2026 legislative priorities document can be accessed in PDF form here.