Olmsted County's strategy, budget, and performance

Strategy

Mission, Vision, and Values

Mission: Building a sustainable foundation for a safe, healthy, and welcoming community through public service excellence. 

Vision: A vibrant community where everyone thrives. 

Values:

  • Thoughtful: We are intentional with our thoughts and actions by considering the needs of others and acting with respect and compassion. We use data and community input to make informed decisions. 
  • Principled: We are careful stewards of our resources and are honest, ethical, and accountable in our work and interactions. 
  • Inclusive: We strive to build equitable and supportive environments that cultivate a sense of belonging. 
  • Service Focused: We strive to add value to the community through quality core services, innovative problem-solving, and continuous improvement. 
  • Collaborative: We work together and seek diverse perspectives, ideas, and experiences to strengthen our community. 

Strategic priorities and goals

  • Community trust and engagement 
    • Olmsted County earns community trust through engagement, collaboration, and reliable public service. 
  • Community safety and well-being 
    • Olmsted County strives to keep our community safe and ensures equitable access to programs and services that improve quality of life. 
  • Environmental sustainability 
    • Olmsted County leads in sustainable practices. 
  • Responsible growth and development 
    • Olmsted County anticipates and adapts to the needs of a growing community. 
  • Effective and engaged workforce  
    • Olmsted County has an engaged and high-performing workforce that reflects the diversity of our community. 

Legislative priorities

The county sets priorities prior to each legislative session to help focus advocacy efforts on initiatives that will support the county’s mission and goals. See the priority items for 2025.   

Budget

Annual budget

Olmsted County is dedicated to making sound financial decisions and following strong financial policies and practices. We support the priorities of Olmsted County while taking a responsible approach to our county’s commitments to residents, business owners, and community partners. Learn more about our annual budget process by reading our administrator’s budget message or viewing our Budget in Brief.

American Rescue Plan Act

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on March 11, 2021. Olmsted County received about $31 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to promote recovery and provide greater community resilience. The funds offer resources to help turn the tide on the pandemic, address its economic fallout, and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery. The first allocation was distributed in May 2021 and the second in May 2022. These ARPA funds must be spent before December 2026.

Olmsted County is prioritizing ARPA funds from March 3, 2021 through December 31, 2024 to:

  • Support or mitigate public health response or its negative economic impact.
  • Provide government services to replace revenue loss.
  • Invest in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure.
  • Provide premium pay for essential workers.

Investments in housing/homelessness needs

  • The most significant use of the funds, totaling $16.1 million, will provide unprecedented support for affordable housing infrastructure and programs in Olmsted County.
  • $10 million for a five-year investment in affordable housing to create and preserve more than 1,100 affordable housing units in Olmsted County and leverage an investment of more than $200 million.
  • A $5 million investment to create affordable homeownership opportunities through the Growing Affordable, Inclusive Neighborhoods (GAIN) program.
  • Purchase of the building at 105 Broadway Avenue N. in Rochester to continue providing transitional housing to homeless individuals for $1 million.
  • Repairs to the Rochester Community Warming Center totaling $100,000.

Investments in mental health and truancy support

  • Expanded mental health support and truancy prevention in elementary schools in the amount of $300,000. An additional $265,000 investment will continue mental health support and truancy prevention in secondary schools.
  • A two-year investment of $232,500 for mental health stabilization through county employees.
  • Expanded therapy services provided by Family Service Rochester for adolescents totaling $125,000.
  • A trained social worker liaison from the county to work with all the school districts in Olmsted County for truancy prevention for $120,000.

Investments in our built and natural environments

  • An initiative focused on groundwater protection and soil health totaling $3 million.
  • Funding of $1.2 million to complete the new nature center at Oxbow Park.
  • Chester Heights Sewer District funding of $500,000 for key upgrades and improvements.
  • Fixing failing sewer systems serving manufactured home communities. Olmsted County will provide up to $420,000 toward improving infrastructure for Zumbro Ridge. 

Investments in other priorities to address effects of COVID-19

  • Technology projects within Health, Housing, and Human Services at the county that will support interoperability, automation, conversion of paper to electronic processes, and access to data and ease of use for clients. These projects total $1 million.
  • A $500,000 investment toward the Child Care Benefit Cliff project to support clients working to get off of public benefits and out of poverty.
  • Provisional staffing for the County Attorney’s Office totaling $500,000 to assist with the backlog of court cases in the system.
  • A proposal from Workforce Development, Inc. to support developing pathways to careers in local government totaling $420,000.
  • Additional hours totaling $120,000 for school nurses to prepare for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year after being deployed to the pandemic for 18 months.

Funding for future projects
The Olmsted County Board of Commissioners has $5.8 million of ARPA funding available for future projects. The total funds must be allocated by December 31, 2024 and all projects must be completed by December 31, 2026.

Olmsted County ARPA news articles

Performance

Performance measures

Each year, Olmsted County participates in a voluntary state measures program, administered by the State Auditor’s Office. This performance reporting provides transparency and comparison with services of other local government jurisdictions in Minnesota to assure quality standards are met.

View the 2021 State Performance Measures Program Report

Survey of residents

Olmsted County regularly surveys its residents to learn more about their quality of life and their experience with Olmsted County government. We use this survey to identify areas of focus for our work to improve the quality of life in Olmsted County and also to improve our services to residents. Please see the 2022 resident survey report below. 

Olmsted County community indicators 

Olmsted County has a population of approximately 164,000 and is one of 87 counties in Minnesota. Community indicators help to understand Olmsted County from a variety of perspectives. These indicators are intended to support county leadership by providing valuable data and information toward fulfilling the county’s mission of “Building a sustainable foundation for a safe, healthy, and welcoming community through public service excellence.”