County roles and challenges These notes are from the St. Louis County 2005 Commissioner Orientation Packet, prepared by the County Administrators Office which includes an assessment of Minnesota County Government by the consulting firm Himle-Horner. Structure of St. Louis County Note that most of the boxes on the lower half of the page report to the County administrator, who reports to the Board of Commissioners, who report to the community. The Himle-Horner report lists perceptions of performance in various roles by Minnesota counties, and challenges facing counties. Roles and perceived performance for Minnesota counties Social Services: generally good performance with a difficult and important role. Public Safety: important, done well, could cooperate more with cities for efficiency. Environment: not done well, not a priority, not funded, duplication with cities and state causes confusion. Economic Development: not done well by counties, should be left to cities and private sector. Land Use Planning: best left to cities, collaborate more with cities. Challenges for Minnesota counties Mandates: external state / federal requirements that counties provide certain services. Often not accompanied by funding. Little room for flexibility. Population Growth: strains services, aging population shifts service demands. Population Loss: may increase demands for services when associated with unemployment, cuts in state aid exacerbate the problem. Regional Planning: Twin Cities counties and cities required to produce comprehensive plans, outside that zone comprehensive land use planning is very variable. This hinders vision and long term planning, which can help save resources and identify opportunities. These roles and challenges are aggregated for the whole state. How does St. Louis County compare? Are there factors are unique to St. Louis County and Duluth? These articles are retained on the web for historical interest and do not necessarily reflect the views or goals of DPPA today.

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