Beltrami Co. Board Looks Into Hiring Lobbyist for Jail Project Funding

The Beltrami County Board of Commissioners is working on figuring out the details for the jail project.

Along with specifics such as location and size, a major part of the project is how it will be funded. Based on data from the public comment survey held in 2022, the board is trying to consider options that do not involve raising prices for property owners.

Currently, there is no official decision on how the project will be funded. One option that the public and commissioners showed possible interest in was to implement a local option sales tax. But this would require a recommendation from the state legislature.

At a Young Professionals Network meeting held on Wednesday, county treasurer/auditor JoDee Treat talked about what the board discussed during their latest meeting.

“They decided to look into hiring a lobbyist,” explained Treat. “So we’re going to go for – request for proposals and look at what a lobbyist can offer us as far as getting our story out to the people that actually would make the decisions.”

If recommended by the Minnesota legislature, the county would then hold a vote for the citizens to approve whether or not to implement a local option sales tax.