New solar panels will save taxpayers $15,000 per year in energy costs - starting in 2070
We in Hennepin County government have recently been congratulating ourselves about the new solar panels just installed on the county’s Public Works building in Medina. The panels are touted as a great success story for county taxpayers because they are saving $15,000 per year in energy costs.
I believe this sort of project can be a great use of taxpayer dollars. If there are “green” improvements that we can make to county buildings that save us money down the road (within a reasonable period of time), I’m on board.
When I was first told about the panels, I asked what I assumed was a simple and relevant question: How much did the panels cost; how long before they have paid for themselves and the taxpayers start realizing this $15,000 annual savings? Read more…
Welcome to the Hennepin County Taxpayer Watchdog - a blog dedicated to informing the taxpayers of one of America’s largest counties how their money is really being spent.
I am a member of the 7-member Hennepin County Board of Commissioners myself. I was first elected to the Board last November and sworn in this January. In my first few months, I’ve been amazed at the reach of the $1.7 billion annual county budget (larger than several state budgets) and the sometimes curious (and sometimes outrageous) ways this money is spent. As Hennepin County government actions largely fly under the media radar screen - despite our tremendous impact on your individual and business property taxes - I felt it time to provide an insider perspective. Read more…
Hennepin County Funds Sex Ed Teachers in Richfield and Brooklyn Center Public Schools
Since my first day on the Hennepin County Board, I’ve been hearing regularly about how the county has cut the fat out of government and is now cutting into bone; that the Governor has decimated county aid to such an extent that we can no longer adequately provide even some of the basic functions of county government.
The problem with that assertion, of course, is the same problem that exists when the argument is used about government budgets at nearly every level: If decision-makers would learn to prioritize and spend less money on those things that are NOT basic functions of government, it would be much easier to fund those things that ARE basic functions of government. Read more…
