Commissioners Give Brief Update on Dakota County

Four of Dakota County's seven commissioners gathered at Eagan's Friday morning to discuss the "state of the county" during the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce's Business & Industry Forum.

District 4 Commissioner Nancy Schouweiler gave a brief speech on items that Dakota County has to offer its residents and others who want to partner with the county. She mentioned the abundance of parks and outdoor recreation, the county's work toward creating , the increased readership among library-goers (5.5 million books were checked out at county libraries last year), and low county taxes.

"We have the lowest tax rate [out of] 87 counties," Schouweiler said.

Even though the county took a 16.6 percent budget cut for 2011, it is still able to provide outstanding services, Schouweiler said.

Describing some of the county's challenges, Schouweiler stated that they cut 60 positions for the second year in a row, however, 17 of those positions involved actual job loss for incumbents.

"We're back to the same staff as we had in 2001, despite serving 50,000 more people," she said.

The county will continue working toward finding a solution for the Cedar Avenue Transitway, Robert Street Transitway (which will also affect Inver Grove Heights, Eagan and Mendota Heights), and to continue to be on top of energy efficiency and technology, Schouweiler said.

District 2 Commissioner Kathleen Gaylord, District 3 Commissioner Tom Egan and District 5 Commissioner Liz Workman were also present at the meeting. Ziprail sponsored the event.