or 
lines to the right of the URL bar at the top of your browser
State Auditor’s Report Identifies City Budget Priorities
The data show that cities are focusing on key investments in capital infrastructure, economic development and housing, and public safety according to Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha.
Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha released the 2023 Minnesota City Summary Budgets Report on April 27.
The 2023 city budgets, adopted in 2022, provide a snapshot of budgeting priorities. The 2023 budget data show cities budgeting an increase of 3% in total revenues and an 8% increase in total expenditures over 2022 budgets.
“The data show that cities are focusing on key investments in capital infrastructure, economic development and housing, and public safety,” Blaha said.
She also said that it illustrates that local governments are leveraging flexibility of American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to focus on ongoing needs.
View the full 2023 Minnesota City Summary Budgets Report (pdf)
Details of the report
This report presents the 2023 summary budget data together with 2022 revised summary budget data. The data reflect unaudited budgeted revenues and expenditures reported by cities to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA), as required by Minnesota Statute, section 6.745, subdivision 1.
The data in this report is best used as a tool to help review budget decisions for 2022 and 2023. These budgets represent a plan, reported by the cities, for the coming year. Rarely do actual revenues and expenditures match the amounts budgeted. In addition, the data reported do not represent all cities’ revenues and expenditures.
Cities report budget data only for funds for which an annual budget is adopted. Cities with funds where annual budgets are not adopted would have more revenues and expenditures than reported. Also, the revenues and expenses of city public service enterprises are not included. The inclusion of enterprise funds would significantly alter the revenue and expenditure trends of cities.