Stearns County Budget Set to Rise With Slight Tax Adjustment

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Stearns County is proposing a 5.2% increase in the 2026 tax levy.

According to county documents, the property tax impact on a $279,000 home would be a 6.75% increase based on the average increase in valuation.

The tax capacity is expected to increase by 5.78%, resulting in a 0.5 percentage point decrease in the tax rate.

Overall, the total budget would increase by just .35% at $212,240,647.

The budget proposal includes the elimination of several vacant positions, including a surveyor, a part-time background investigator, a part-time jury attendant, and a part-time correctional officer. A vacant public service representative position and IT interns are also being eliminated.

The county is looking to add two sheriff's patrol deputies, a fraud investigator, a parks maintenance worker, a sanitarian position in Environmental Services, and a procurement and contract specialist that would be paid for with the Justice Center half-cent sales tax revenues.