SHERBURNE COUNTY
SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
The purpose of this report is to provide a summary of financial information concerning Sherburne County
for interested citizens. Questions about this report should be directed to Diane Arnold, County Auditor/Treasurer at (763) 765-4363.
A FULL AND COMPLETE COPY OF THE COUNTY FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.CO.SHERBURNE.MN.US OR UPON REQUEST BY CALLING DIANE ARNOLD, OR BY WRITING TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR/TREASURER AT 13880 BUSINESS CENTER DRIVE, SUITE 100, ELK RIVER, MN 55330. A PROFILE OF SHERBURNE COUNTY
COUNTY OFFICIALS TITLE PHONE NUMBER
Barbara Burandt Commissioner District 1 (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Raeanne Danielowski Commissioner District 2 (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Tim Dolan Commissioner District 3 (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Felix Schmiesing Commissioner District 4 (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Lisa A. Fobbe Commissioner District 5 (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Bruce Messelt County Administrator (763) 765-3001 or 1-800-433-5229
Kathleen Heaney County Attorney (763) 765-4725 or 1-800-433-5244
Diane Arnold County Auditor/Treasure (763) 765-4351 or 1-800-438-0576
Michelle Ashe County Recorder (763) 765-4420 or 1-800-719-2826
Joel Brott County Sheriff (763) 765-4000 or 1-800-433-5245
A PROFILE OF SHERBURNE COUNTY
Percent
TotalTotal Increase
KEY INDICATOR 2022 2021 Decrease
Estimated Population 100,824 99,074 1.77%
Total Assessed Market Value of all
Taxable Property 13,571,041,388 11,020,257,826 23.15%
Percent of Property Taxes Collected
(including delinquent collections) 99.37% 98.97% 0.4%
Total General Revenues 59,837,122 66,219,173 -9.64%
Total Program Revenues 68,846,106 57,206,702 20.35%
Total Expenses Governmental activities 109,535,137 94,404,258 16.03%
Total Expenses Business-type activities 20,345,870 13,575,665 49.87%
Capital Assets - Governmental activities 289,389,508 286,812,218 0.90%
Capital Assets - Business-type activities 17,069,766 17,624,357 -3.15%
Total Outstanding Net Bonded Debt of the County 35,404,401 37,023,013 -3.11%
Bond Rating on the Most Recent Bond Issue(s) AA+ AA+
Total Government-Wide Net Position
Governmental activities 350,985,396 349,132,254 0.53%
Business-type activities 13,440,550 16,449,218 -18.3%
Total Number of Employees 725 700 3.57%
ECONOMIC CONDITION AND OUTLOOK
Sherburne County continues to grow both from a population and a tax base perspective. The population increased 1.77% from the previous year of 99,074 to 100,824, making Sherburne County the 12th largest County in Minnesota. Countywide residential values have increased approximately 22.50% for taxes payable in 2023, bringing the average residential value to $344,000. New home permits are down (39.66%) compared to the same period in 2021. The County continues to see a number of solar farms (known as Community Solar Gardens under Minnesota Statues) that have developed primarily during the 2017-2021 timeframe. Additionally, commercial and industrial new construction, as well as permits for renovations and/or expansions of existing properties and facilities, are ticking upward. County staff continues to look for innovative solutions to control expenses and increase revenues while maintaining services to our residents.
A number of indicators contribute to continued growth and financial stability of the County. The following are some of what we feel to be key indicators.
Key Economic Indicators Amounts Characteristics
2022 Population 100,824 Up 11.94% from the 2013 census of 90,069
2022 Taxable Market Value $13,571,041,388 Up 114.17% from 2013 Taxable Market Value of $6,336,422,900
2022 New Construction $ 190,393,300 Compared to 2013 New Construction of $40,375,000
2022 Tax Parcels 43,179 Up 5.49% from Pay 2013 Tax Parcels of 40,931
2022 Business-Type Parcels 1,607 Up 15.61% from Pay 2013 Business-Type Parcels of 1,390
Due to its relatively dense population outside of - and yet in close proximity to - the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Sherburne County is attractive to businesses that seek affordable land and labor costs to locate or expand their operations. Businesses are continuing to choose Sherburne County because of the growing population, available and educated workforce, and access to major highways and the railroad.
Commuter rail service continues to provide ridership via the Northstar Corridor rail line and its related bus connector, which began operation in November of 2009, linking Big Lake to downtown Minneapolis, with stops in Elk River, Anoka, Ramsey, Coon Rapids, Fridley and Target Field (Minneapolis). Ridership was greatly impacted by business shutdowns and restrictions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic. Ridership on the train in 2021 was at 50,433, compared to 77,076 in 2022 a 52.83% increase. People from the St. Cloud area can catch the commuter coach, the “Northstar Link”, which includes a stop in Becker, to the Big Lake station to catch the Northstar train to Minneapolis. This form of transportation has been a great service for Sherburne County residents to utilize in today’s economy.
The County is dependent on the State of Minnesota for a significant portion of its revenues. In 2022, Sherburne County was still dealing with many challenges relating to the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Many staff are transitioning from working from home and the full impact of the pandemic will not be determined for years. In 2021, Sherburne County received Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal recovery Funds (ARPA Funds) in the amount of $9,443,671 which is one half of the amount allotted to Sherburne County, based on our application filed with the U.S. Treasury. The second half allocation of $9,443,671 has come in June of 2022..
LONG-TERM FINANCIAL PLANNING
The County Board annually sets goals to establish key priorities, based upon an adopted 3-5 year Strategic Plan. The budget process includes direction to department heads to document savings to be achieved during the year to address any anticipated revenue shortages from the State. The County Board encourages Department Heads to continue to look for ways to re-engineer work processes and services, and/or find alternate methods of cost reduction or revenue enhancement. The County holds regular “LEAN” events to look for departmental and countywide efficiency improvements and cost savings. The County also annually updates the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan, prepared by the Administration department, with inputs from all County departments. The County has utilizes the OpenGov budget platform software to increase budgeting efficiency and enhance transparency with the public. The software was utilized and implemented for the 2022 Countywide budget and is available to County residents 24 hours a day on the County’s website. We have had a great response from County residents since the implementation of the program.
MAJOR INITIATIVES
Public Works Department and Regional Rail Fund - The County Board approve allocating some of the adopted local option sales tax to Northstar costs, thus reducing the Regional Rail Authority levy to $0 again for 2023 – the net effect of both county levies, therefore is a 6.49% increase. Put another way, the average residential homesteaded property in Sherburne County will see a $9.60 increase/month. For 2023 valuation for payable 2024 property tax, the average valued residential home increased from $344,000 to $370,000 in Sherburne County.
Providing quality services in a fiscally responsible manner continues to be the mission and one of the five pillars of the Strategic Plan of Sherburne County. Streamlining business processes through technology improvements is a consistent theme for County Elected leaders and staff. The County Board is now utilizing Microsoft Teams for residents to be able to listen and/or become active participants in the County Board, County EDA and Planning Commission meetings. This meeting platform is also utilized by our employees as they work or conducted significant business remotely, thus increasing efficiencies and reducing travel time and costs. This is a trend that will likely continue. In addition, the County has automated the Homestead process in the Assessor’s office and the foster home service agreement and payment voucher process in HHS. We have also created an appointment system for Driver’s License and Recorder’s departments greatly reducing the wait times for residents. Enhanced online service portals are currently under development for the County’s permitting, planning and zoning functions. Sherburne County will continue to look for ways of conducting business more effectively for County residents.
