CROW WING COUNTY BOARD SETS BUDGET

The Crow Wing Count Board of Commissioners decided unanimously to increase next year's tax levy by 3% rather than 5% as previously discussed. Commissioner Rachel Reebe Nystrom said members of the board got a wake-up call when levy referendums in Brainerd and Crosby failed by substantial margins. She said what she hears from people at meetings and at Truth in Taxation hearings, is that things are tough out there, financially. Nystrom said the board tried to figure out how lean the board could be and still provide the services the people of the county want. Nystrom said an unexpected bit of good news came from a state Department of Corrections contract that may bring in $250,000 next year by housing state inmates. Nystrom said some wondered if prisoners would stay in Crow Wing County after they had served their sentence. Jail administrator Jerry Negen said the DOC pledges that each prisoner gets a bus ticket back home upon their release.