Beltrami County Invites Public Comment on Proposed Budget and Levy

Beltrami County Auditor-Treasurer JoDee Treat's office posted a formal public hearing notice on April 1, opening the mandated comment period before the county board adopts its next budget and levy.

The notice follows a turbulent 2025 budget season. In December, commissioners approved a 9.63% property tax levy increase, pushing the total levy past $36.5 million, while cutting support for the Bemidji and Blackduck public libraries from $437,725 to the state-mandated minimum of $265,162, a reduction of more than $172,000. The board voted 4-1, with Commissioner Joe Gould as the lone dissent, after more than an hour of public testimony and four failed amendment attempts from Gould to restore library and transit funding.

County budgets set spending levels for the services felt most directly in daily life: 911 dispatch and emergency response, jail operations, road maintenance and snow removal, public health programs, and transit. Last year, a $700,000 contingency fund was built into the budget to cushion expected federal and state cost shifts to county obligations, a pressure County Administrator Tom Barry warned could have required a 16.5% levy increase without departmental cuts.

The public hearing gives residents, organizations like the Kitchigami Regional Library System, and elected representatives a formal, on-record opportunity to testify before the board finalizes the next spending plan. Those who cannot attend in person may participate remotely or submit written comments as specified in the notice.

To review budget documents, submit comments, or confirm hearing logistics, contact Auditor-Treasurer JoDee Treat at the County Administration Building, 701 Minnesota Ave. NW, Suite 220, Bemidji, or by phone at 218-333-4175.