by Dennis Dalman
Establishing an annual city budget is a long, exacting, arduous process as the city staff and council members of St. Joseph know very well from working on the 2024 budget of $5.17 million.
That is an increase of 9.5 percent ($448,760) from 2023. The city anticipates enough income to cover this year’s budget. Anticipated revenues are an increase of 11 percent over last year’s revenues.
According to information supplied by the city, those incoming revenues include property taxes ($4.36 million), state-aid money (about $2.45 million), local-option sales tax revenue (about $500,000 estimated) as well as franchise fees, fines and forfeitures, utility charges and interest earnings.
The city-budget planning starts in the spring of every year with city officials examining project goals, staffing levels, services, five-year equipment needs and the debt burden. Each department in the city submits budget priorities and then balancing efforts begin between those needs and what the city can reasonably afford.
The city’s departments include Administration, Finance, Public Works, Police, Firefighting, Community Development and the City Clerk Office and Responsibilities.
A list of capital improvements the city must accommodate within its budget include many necessities totaling $756,390 for 2024. The costliest categories are Street Maintenance ($174,000), Firefighting ($69,450), Economic Development Authority ($60,500) and Ice and Snow Removal ($27,500).
In September every year, the city council then determines all city services required and available revenue that is anticipated throughout the coming year. Budget adjustments are then made before the Truth-in-Taxation public-input meeting held in late December. Then, based on input and further scrutiny, the council approves a final budget and levy amount in January.
One challenge in St. Joseph is that much of the property within the city is non-taxable in such as the College of St. Benedict, the Benedictine Monastery and the churches in the city. However, on the bright side, those facilities do bring many visitors and revenue into the city – revenue that circulates in the area and benefits many people directly or indirectly.
Some of the highlights from 2023 and leading into 2024 are the following:
Community Center
Moving ahead with plans for a new community center. In 2020, the City of St. Joseph was awarded $4 million in state funding for a center. The next year, the council hired HMS Architects to design the facility in partnership with the St. Cloud YMCA, which will assist in the center’s operations. A capital campaign has a goal of raising $14 million during 36 months for the center. The completion of the center and its opening is expected to happen in 2025, if the fundraising goals are met. It will be located just east of the old Kennedy Elementary School building on city-owned land.
Pay Equity
Last year, the city hired a firm to conduct a pay-equity study for City of St. Joseph employees. That study resulted in new job descriptions and a new pay scale that started on Jan. 1 of this year.
Another study, a market-rate study, conducted in 2022 was initiated because of turnover and low-recruitment applications for the Police and Finance departments. Compensation and wage scales were updated as part of the pay-equity study.
New hires
St. Joseph hired a new city administrator in 2023, as well as a full-time police officer to replace a part-time officer.
This year, the city expects to hire a full-time maintenance worker for the Public Works department, a part-time recreation coordinator for the Parks and Recreation department and a summer planning intern for community development.
A few new positions were or will eventually be added to the Police department and the Public Works department.
More budget details are available on the City of St. Joseph website.
An overhead view of St. Joseph, looking toward the south from the downtown area.
