Request email notification when page changes E-Notify
gengov_clicheader
Doc app

Document Center

The Document Center provides easy access to public documents. Click on one of the categories below to see related documents or use the search function.

Search for file type:
Categories always sorted by seq (sub-categories sorted within each category)
Documents sorted by HEADER in Ascending Order within category
Please click on one of the categories below to see uploaded documents.
Census 2020 5 documents
CAT:266
Download File
This guide prepares local governments to participate in the Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA). The guide includes a detailed checklist for participating local governments, sample forms, and the LUCA schedule.
document Header 2020 Census LUCA Operation Information Guide
file:269
Download File
This one pager outlines concerns that Minnesota will lose a congressional seat after the 2020 Census and suggests efforts counties can undertake to give the state the best opportunity to retain all eight U.S. Representative seats.
document Header Census 2020: Could Minnesota Lose a Congressional Seat?
file:267
Download File
This NACo report explains how counties can help in an effective roll-out of the 2020 Census by working with states and the federal government. Along with the American Community Survey (ACS), the data is critical in deciding factors such as representation apportionment amongst the general population, and allocating approximately $600 billion dollars in federal funding every year. The report outlines key takeaways which enable counties to maximize the benefits from the 2020 Census.
document Header Everyone Counts: How 2020 Census Data Matter to Your Bottom Line
file:284
Download File
This document answers 31 common questions about the Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA) including questions about the program, why local governments should participate, and technical requirements.
document Header Frequently Asked Questions: 2020 Census LUCA
file:270
Download File
This flyer summarizes basic information about the Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA) and how local governments can participate.
document Header The 2020 Census Local Update of Census Addresses Operation (LUCA)
file:268
Joint Power Agreements 7 documents
CAT:654
Download File
This document includes the joint power agreements of three different entities that work in public health, solid waste, and watershed management. The agreements are annotated with notations that highlight required language and best practices. These are intended to show what language successful joint powers use in their agreements.
document Header Annotated Joint Power Agreements
file:656
Download File
This guidebook builds on the other two intergovernmental relations guidebooks and gives a comprehensive and practical guide to local government contracting and procurement.
document Header Best Practices Contracting
file:661
Download File
This is a one-page reference document outlining what was determined from various sources to be the best practices for Joint Powers Agreements/Authorities and Joint Powers Entities. It includes a section on the requirements of JPA’s given by Minnesota statute, a section on top priorities when forming and running joint powers entities, general best practices, and the most commonly asked resources for new commissioners when joining joint powers boards.
document Header Best Practices for Joint Exercise of Powers
file:655
Download File
Coming from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, this guidebook dives into the best practices of initiating, building, and maintaining governmental relationships.
document Header Best Practices Review
file:659
Download File
Coming from the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, this guidebook was written for local officials highlighting the best practices for fostering, crafting, and implementing cooperative agreements among local governments.
document Header Best Practices Service Delivery
file:660
Download File
Published by the League of Minnesota Cities, this document details the different forms of government cooperation, including mutual aid agreements, joint powers, service contracts, and contracts for shared resources or personal. It also includes common pitfalls and recommended provisions for minimizing claims and managing liability risks. It additionally includes sample hold-harmless contract language and links to model agreements.
document Header Intergovernmental Agreements
file:658
Download File
Taken from Chapter 16 of the League of Minnesota Cities’ Handbook for Minnesota Cities, this packet gives a detailed description of intergovernmental relationships, including a section on the Joint Powers Act. It also includes sections on land use planning and regional development, and banding with others in local government associations.
document Header LMC Intergovernmental Cooperation
file:657
Cybersecurity 5 documents
CAT:662
Download File
This document gives a brief overview of the importance of cybersecurity measures in counties. The document provides a list of best policies that counties should consider based on the practice’s cost, cybersecurity defense impact, and implementation effort.
document Header 2021 NACo Cybersecurity Priorities and Best Practices
file:668
Download File
This starter kit from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency provides guidance for organizations and their leaders for improving their cybersecurity. The document includes six toolkits for the leader of the organization and IT staff to build a culture of cyber readiness within the workforce. These toolkits advise actions for the leader and IT staff to take to build this culture, and they also provide additional resources for taking action.
document Header Cyber Essentials Starter Kit
file:667
Download File
This two-page brief highlights important basic information local governments should understand about cybersecurity. The brief notes why local governments are targets, common attacks, the lifecycle of an attack, and examples of recent cyber breaches in Minnesota.
document Header Cybersecurity Basics for Local Governments
file:665
Download File
This primer was created so that every official and county employee, regardless of technical background, can work in a unified approach with their IT leaders. The primer raises awareness and understanding of cybersecurity, cyber preparedness, and the local government leader's role in cyber risk management and incident response.
document Header Cybersecurity Primer for Local Government Leaders
file:666
Download File
This report analyzes the results of a statewide survey of Minnesota county cybersecurity experiences and preparedness. The survey was conducted in the summer of 2022.
document Header Minnesota County Cybersecurity Survey Report
file:664
County Meetings 4 documents
CAT:206
Download File
document Header General Ethics Guide for Counties
file:209
Download File
This is an introductory video about Minnesota's open meeting law which regulates public meetings held by counties and other government bodies. The video explains when the open meeting law applies and rules about special and closed meetings.
document Header Minnesota Open Meeting Law Training Video
file:283
Download File
Find more information and resources from our partners at the Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust.
document Header Minnesota's Open Meeting Law
file:207
Download File
document Header Quick Guide to Parliamentary Procedure
file:208
County Government Structure and Budget 4 documents
CAT:259
Download File
document Header County Budget Overview
file:263
Download File
document Header County Fund Balances
file:264
Download File
This document gives a general overview of county government structure, including management systems used in Minnesota counties.
document Header County Government Structure
file:260
Download File
document Header Debt Management for Counties
file:262

Also see COUNTY PROGRAM AID and PROPERTY TAXES sections below. No documents

sub:265
County Officers 8 documents
CAT:111
Download File
This information brief describes the process for changing certain county government offices from elected to appointed positions and explains which county offices may be combined. It also summarizes which counties have implemented these changes and if a county used general or special law.
document Header County Offices: Combining or Making Appointment
file:113
Download File
This fact sheet outlines the duties and responsibilities for county commissioners. It highlights a commissioner's role as a representative of constituents and the county and the responsibility of commissioners in county management and budgeting.
document Header Duties of a County Commissioner
file:112
Download File
This fact sheet reviews the basic duties of a County Assessor. It also outlines the Assessor's code of conduct and ethics and the three reasons a county board may terminate the term of an Assessor. The fact sheet comes from the Auditor/Treasurer Manual published by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
document Header Duties of County Assessors
file:115
Download File
This fact sheet lists the basic duties of a County Auditor. The fact sheet comes from the Auditor/Treasurer Manual published by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
document Header Duties of County Auditors
file:114
Download File
This fact sheet lists the basic duties of a County Recorder. The fact sheet comes from the Auditor/Treasurer Manual published by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
document Header Duties of County Recorders
file:116
Download File
This fact sheet lists the basic duties of a County Treasurer. The fact sheet comes from the Auditor/Treasurer Manual published by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
document Header Duties of County Treasurers
file:117
Download File
document Header So, You Want to Be a County Commissioner?
file:203
Download File
This video describes the role of the county attorney and the diverse areas of law in which a county attorney works. 
document Header What is a County Attorney?
file:279
County Program Aid 6 documents
CAT:131
Download File
This chart lists, county-by-county, the 2016 County Program Aid distribution.
document Header County Program Aid 2016 Allocation
file:182
Download File
This policy brief by House Research explains the origins of County Program Aid and clearly outlines the formula used to distribute aid.
document Header County Program Aid History and Overview
file:183
Download File
document Header CPA Fact Sheet 2019
file:361
Download File
This presentation by the Minnesota Department of Revenue explains the history and calculation of the current county program aid formula.  The presentation details how changes in a county's land value and demographics have impacted the aid's distribution over the past ten years.
document Header Minnesota County Program Aid PowerPoint
file:181
Download File
This fact sheet details the new County Program Aid formula proposed by AMC's County Program Aid Work Group. The fact sheet also describes the current formula, its volatile funding over the past ten years, and the inequitable distribution of aid to counties across the state.
document Header The "NEW" County Program Aid
file:139
Download File
This webinar from October 2013 discusses trends in County Program Aid (CPA).
document Header Trends in County Program Aid
file:132
Essential Records and Records Emergency Planning 2 documents
CAT:125
Download File
The Essential Records course will prepare participants to: Identify an agency's essential records; Analyze potential risks to records; Identify and prioritize protection strategies; Develop procedures to ensure access to essential records. 
document Header Essential Records Webinar
file:126
Download File
The Records Emergency Planning and Response course will prepare participants to: Prepare and maintain a Records Emergency Action Plan (REAP) and Respond to and recover from records emergencies.
document Header Records Emergency Planning & Response Webinar
file:127
Local Government Sales Tax Exemption 2 documents
CAT:135
Download File
This webinar explains the legislative history of the new sales tax law, the procedures that city and county officials will need to follow to secure the exemption, and what to do during the transitional period.
document Header Preparing for the New City/County Sales Tax Exemption-What You Need to Know
file:136
Download File
This fact sheet explains when sales to federal, state or local governments in Minnesota are taxable what exemptions are available.
document Header Sales to Governments
file:138
Property Taxes 11 documents
CAT:140
Download File
This document identifies 14 reasons why property taxes may change from year to year.
document Header 14 Reasons Why Property Taxes Vary from Year to Year
file:142
Download File
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, has recognized Anoka County's "Pie, With a Side of Property Taxes" video as part of the 2017 Bright Ideas in Government initiative. What does a pie have to do with your property taxes? Learn what 2 things directly affect how much you pay.
document Header Anoka County Video: Pie, With a Side of Property Taxes
file:235
Download File
This policy brief reviews the property tax system including: who pays, how much property taxes raise, recent changes to the system, and major credits, refunds, and aids.
document Header Minnesota Department of Revenue: Property Tax
file:188
Download File
This course provides instruction on how property taxes are calculated for taxes payable in 2016. It provides a concise introduction to the basic terms and methodology for calculating property taxes, and provides examples and problems that give thorough instruction on the step-by-step computations.
document Header Minnesota Tax Calculation Course 2016
file:189
Download File
The Minnesota Tax Handbook is published biennially, with a smaller Supplement published in the intervening years. The first section provides a profile of each state tax including tax base, rates, collection amounts, and legislative history. The second section profiles each local tax in a similar manner. The last section contains state and local tax collections for the two most recent years.
document Header Minnesota Tax Handbook A Profile of State and Local Taxes in Minnesota
file:187
Download File
This AMC document provides an overview of Minnesota's property tax system. The document maps the property assessment process and the steps to appeal an over-assessed property.  It also includes the current property tax classifications and a glossary of property tax related terms.
document Header Minnesota's Property Tax System
file:196
Download File
Webinar presentation from March 2015.
document Header Property Tax 101 - Power Point
file:202
Download File
This policy brief outlines the process used to determine a community's net tax capacity and how a local taxing jurisdiction sets its levy. The brief also includes an example of how to calculate the tax for an individual property.
document Header Property Tax 101: Basic Terms and Concepts
file:184
Download File
This policy brief outlines the roles of county officials in property tax administration. It includes a timeline for the property tax process and an explanation for how property owners may appeal the assessor's valuation of their property.
document Header Property Tax 101: Property Tax Administration
file:185
Download File
This policy brief explains why taxes vary by type of property and includes a chart comparing property taxes for several property types. 
document Header Property Tax 101: Property Tax Variation by Property Type
file:186
Download File
This webinar provides an overview of the property tax system in Minnesota.
document Header Property Taxes 101 - Webinar
file:143
Social Media and County Government 2 documents
CAT:128
Download File
You do not have to know how to tweet to enjoy this webinar but you will learn how Twitter and other social media techniques are being used in county government.
document Header Social Media and County Government
file:129
Download File
Meg Knodl, Hennepin County Online Community Manager, will help you be better informed when staff and constituents request county government to be more involved in new communication options.
document Header Social Media Dos and Don'ts For County Government
file:130
Statement of Economic Interest 4 documents
CAT:248
Download File
This video is produced by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board and explains how to complete the Board's online Statement of Economic Interest form. The video also provides details on what type of information should be included in the Statement. 
document Header Economic Interest Online Reporting System Video
file:252
Download File
The Public and Local Officials Handbook by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board gives detailed answers on public disclosure policies that impact county commissioners and other county elected positions. This handbook provides assistance on completing sections of the Statement of Economic Interest form and includes information on conflict of interest notices and gift bans.
document Header Public and Local Officals Handbook
file:251
Download File
This is a blank form of the Statement of Economic Interest for County Commissioners. Commissioners may submit their Statement of Economic Interest either through this form or through the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board's website.
document Header Statement of Economic Interest for County Commissioners: Blank Form
file:253
Download File
All Minnesota county commissioners and some elected or appointed officials in metropolitan counties must periodically disclose certain financial interests. This one-page brief answers questions about the Statement of Economic Interest requirement, including: who needs to file, what information is asked, and where and when it needs to be filed.
document Header Statement of Economic Interest: Association of Minnesota Counties Primer
file:249