Sheriff, County Attorney seek combined 17.7% budget increase
Hennepin County's Sheriff's Office and County Attorney's Office presented their 2026 budget proposals to commissioners on October 7, requesting a combined $162.6 million and $4.9% increase respectively. No votes were taken, but the presentations highlighted how both offices are grappling with rising personnel costs, decreased state and federal funding, and new demands on their services.
The Sheriff's Office is requesting $162.6 million in property taxes, a 12.8% increase from 2025. Sheriff Wit emphasized that public safety is essential to addressing county priorities like reducing disparities and improving health and education outcomes. The budget increase is driven primarily by personnel costs—including salary adjustments and health insurance—and technology investments like body-worn cameras. However, the office faces a $5 million cut in federal and state funding, creating a structural challenge that Commissioner Fernando said the board must address "in the coming years while ensuring stability for our workforce."
The County Attorney's Office is requesting a 4.9% property tax increase, with 87% of the budget going to personnel costs. County Attorney Mary Morardi highlighted several initiatives: the office has dramatically expanded U-visa certifications for immigrant crime victims (from 9 to over 450), filed 45 Extreme Risk Protection Orders—a civil tool to temporarily remove firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others—and strengthened the "Be At School" program with embedded social workers in schools. The office is also holding 13 positions vacant to help offset costs.
Both offices emphasized prevention and collaboration. The County Attorney's Youth Auto Theft Early Intervention Project aims to divert young people from the criminal justice system entirely. Commissioner Connley shared a personal story about a vehicle theft, saying that meeting with the young offender could "change how that young person views what it is that they did" and prevent future harm.
Key challenges emerged during discussion: commissioners questioned whether the Sheriff's high overtime costs reflect deeper staffing problems, and they raised concerns about unfunded state mandates—like the Clean Slate Act requiring record expungements—that strain county budgets. County Administrator Jody Wentland noted the administration has been careful not to accept federal funding terms that could put the county at financial risk. No formal votes were taken; these were informational briefings ahead of budget deliberations.
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Votes (2)
Henepin County Sheriff's Office 2026 Budget Presentation and Discussion
The Sheriff's Office outlined its 2026 budget request, emphasizing public safety, personnel costs, and technological advancements. Key points included a 12.8% property tax increase from 2025, no increase in FTEs, and significant changes in personnel services expenditures ($10.7 million increase) and technology investments ($3.1 million for services like body-worn cameras). The office is facing a $5 million decrease in federal and state funding. Sheriff Wit highlighted the importance of public safety for equitable outcomes, detailing initiatives in the Adult Detention Center (e.g., HOPE program, opioid response, K9 teams), community outreach (700+ events, youth programs), and climate action (sustainable HQ). Challenges include staffing levels, unpredictable overtime needs, increasing medical/mental health demands in the jail, and the need for updated technology integration. Commissioners raised concerns about structural issues behind overtime costs, the lack of state funding for mandated services like court functions, and the overall funding model for 911 emergency response. The Sheriff emphasized ongoing recruitment and retention efforts and the benefits of technology in improving transparency and operational efficiency.
Henepin County Attorney's Office 2026 Budget Presentation and Discussion
County Attorney Mary Morardi presented the 2026 budget, emphasizing that 87% is allocated to personnel and that most of the office's work is mandatory. The proposed budget includes a 4.9% property tax increase, driven by salaries and health insurance, partially offset by network storage reductions. No new FTEs were requested, with savings achieved by holding 13 positions vacant. Key initiatives included a significant increase in UT visa certifications (from 9 to 450+), the successful 'Be At School' program (with embedded social workers), 45+ Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) filed due to dedicated coordination, and expanded restorative practices. The Civil Division's critical role in county governance and managing federal funding challenges was highlighted. Commissioners appreciated the office's focus on prevention, collaboration, and rethinking justice. Discussions covered the strategy for holding positions vacant, trends in victim services, the expansion of ERPOs, the impact of embedded social workers in schools, the civil division's extensive work in monitoring federal funding, and a desire to retain specific grant-funded victim services.
Notable Quotes (11)
Our proposed budget includes $162.6 million in property taxes in order to fund the programs and activities that the sheriff's office considers vital in providing public safety to all residents of Henipin County. This represents a 12.8% increase from our 2025 adjusted operating budget.
You cannot reduce, let alone eliminate, disparities without prioritizing public safety. Research consistently shows that public safety is a critical driver of equitable equitable outcomes in areas including health, education, and climate.
This board has been speaking a lot about just the funding funding we're getting from the feds and the state or what we're not receiving and how are we going to rise to structurally make sense of that um in the coming years while ensuring stability for our workforce and continued services for residents.
At some point people have to look at how where does pri public safety fit on the prioritation list. There are people literally who listen to things like this who have bad intention for our communities. So I will continue to advocate that public safety needs to be properly funded...
The more we can actually be fully staffed um in there. The overtime utilization is where it needs to be versus overtime utilization because you're struggling on having um being fully staffed in critical functions.
One important thing to understand is that we don't charge cases unless they're submitted to us by law enforcement. Uh so we need to get those cases, but we had over 10,000 of them.
We did astronomical work and you should all be really proud of them um because they really provided services that had never been provided before.
Essentially just very quickly, this is a tool. It's a civil tool where if if you believe that somebody is struggling with their mental health and may have access to a gun or has a gun and that they may be at risk of harming themselves or others, uh you can get an herpo uh filed...
So we partnered with law enforcement uh to just have them give us the names, not for the purpose of net widening. We did not want to bring those young people into the system. We wanted to keep them out completely.
We have not agreed to any terms or conditions that we think would put the county at risk financially. That has been a major focus going back to the beginning of this year.
If I can get across the table from a 13-year-old who stole my vehicle, I might be able to prevent something h from happening in the future. It may change um how that young person views what it is that they did. It may stop another family from experiencing what I did.
Ordinances & Resolutions (8)
The primary budget document under discussion for both the Sheriff's and County Attorney's Offices.
Used as a baseline for comparison for the 2026 budget changes.
A Medicaid waiver advocated by the Sheriff for pre-adjudicated individuals to help offset jail medical costs.
New legislation mentioned as an unfunded state mandate impacting the Sheriff's Office workload.
U-visas for immigrant victims of crime, proactively certified by the County Attorney's Office.
A civil tool allowing temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others, implemented by the County Attorney's Office.
State law for which the County Attorney's Worker Protection Team secured Minnesota's first conviction.
A federal grant for victim services that is being lost, prompting discussion about continuing the specific focus with other funds.
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2026 Henepin County Attorney's Office Proposed Budget
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