ST. CLOUD -- The Stearns County Board of Commissioners have set the preliminary budget and levy for 2013. But, the levy will be less than what was proposed.

Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of reducing the levy by 1% rather than the 0.3% proposed by staff.

Although the levy is down, the budget is still up by about $3-million, primarily for road and bridge projects. The increase will be paid for primarily with state and federal funds.

The move means the average homeowner will see a decrease in their county portion of their property tax of about 4-6%.

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