The Ramsey County board unanimously approved its 2026 tax levy and 2026-2027 operating budget Tuesday, both decreases from previously proposals.

The board passed an 8.25% 2026 tax levy – down from the proposed maximum tax levy of 9.75% – and a 2026 operating budget of $924,063,479 and 2027 operating budget of $962,473,868.

An earlier proposed operating budget for 2026 was $929.25 million and the 2027 proposed operating budget was $968.45 million.

The reductions come following budget shifts and reductions in levy-supported spending. Community members who shared their feedback and concerns with the budget helped shape it, county officials said.

Flexibility

Still, there were difficult tradeoffs, they said.

One of the reasons the most recent cuts were previously not brought forward was to provide the county some flexibility to do its work, said County Manager Ling Becker during a November board workshop.

Cost shifts to the county from the federal level have negatively impacted the county’s safety net, said District 6 Commissioner Mai Chong Xiong.

“This budget reflects the reality, and that the board has made intentional choices to reduce that impact as much as possible,” Chong Xiong said.

About 46% of the county’s budget is funded through property taxes and county officials have cited rising costs, limited revenue growth, increasing demand for services, as well as uncertainty on the federal and state level as budget pressures. County officials on Tuesday also cited increasing state and federal mandates for services that counties are required to provide.

Budget cuts

Budget cuts include reductions to state-mandated burial assistance funding for low-income residents for 2026, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s newly proposed community engagement funding, county contributions to Ramsey County Historical Society and other funds.

“And I just want to say … this is just spread across the enterprise, it’s things like cuts in IT, cuts in our CEO Next cohort that is going to be delayed, it’s cuts in some of the different staffing and programs and services,” said District 1 Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh. “We heard folks who were feeling the pain about shifts in services that were happening within their staffing units, within their community. So those are very real. They weren’t taken light-heartedly.”

Nonprofits

County officials also addressed comments from residents on county spending with non-profit partners brought up during the county’s truth in taxation hearing on Dec. 11. That spending represented around 4% of the county budget in 2024 and is not the primary driver of cost increases, which largely come from cost shifts, personnel costs and increased service demands, according to Becker.

“Ramsey County does not provide unrestricted donations. It funds nonprofits through contracts to deliver specific, often state-mandated, services,” Becker said.

She added: “County staff conduct regular invoice reviews and ongoing performance monitoring to ensure that services are delivered as intended and funds are used appropriately. These efforts are aligned across departments and reviewed regularly to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. In addition, the county’s chief compliance and ethics officer who oversees the internal auditor provides independent oversight to strengthen accountability and to ensure consistent adherence to county policies and all legal requirements.”

For further information on county budget changes discussed on Tuesday, go to tinyurl.com/3sjr5uz2.

Related Articles

How Ramsey County is making its ice rinks smarter and greener

Rafael Ortega won’t seek reelection to Ramsey County Board

Rebecca Noecker officially announces for Ramsey County Board

St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker to run for Ramsey County Board

Ramsey County to pay $875,000 to Little Canada foster parents in data practices dispute

By JAIMIE DING, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty in a scheme to supply ketamine to actor Matthew Perry was sentenced Tuesday to 8 months of home confinement.

Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego is on supervised release for 3 years and will be expected to do 300 hours of community service for his role in the “Friends” star’s overdose death, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett ruled.

Chavez acquired ketamine and gave it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison earlier this month for selling ketamine to Perry in the months leading up to his death.

FILE – Dr. Mark Chavez, a physician from San Diego, who is charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose, is seen after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine in Los Angeles on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Plasencia admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted Chavez that Perry was a “moron” who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.

Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn’t provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia.

Chavez admitted to obtaining the ketamine from a wholesale distributor on false pretenses and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He has not been in custody.

Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on “Friends,” when he became one of the biggest TV stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004 on NBC’s megahit.

Chavez is the second person to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry’s death at age 54 in 2023.

Related Articles

Hyundai and Kia will repair millions of vehicles under a deal to fix anti-theft technology

Joe Ely, a Texas songwriter whose legacy touched rock and punk, dies age 78

Customs and Border Protection officer fires gun in dispute with driver at JFK airport

FIFA slashes price of some World Cup tickets to $60 after global fan backlash

6 women targeted by serial rapist sue Hinge, Tinder

Perry was found dead by his assistant on Oct. 28. The medical examiner ruled ketamine was the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug through his regular doctor in a legal but off-label treatment for depression that has become increasingly common.

Seeking more ketamine than his doctor would give him, about a month before his death Perry found Plasencia, who in turn asked Chavez to obtain the drug for him.

He met with Plasencia between San Diego and Los Angeles to hand off ketamine he got using fraudulent prescriptions. In all, he admitted to supplying 22 5-milliliter vials of ketamine and nine ketamine lozenges.

Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of six months home confinement, two years of probation, and at least 300 hours of community service. Chavez’s attorneys asked for credit for time served and three years of probation.

The other three defendants who reached deals to plead guilty will be sentenced at their own hearings in the coming months. Garnett has said she would seek to make sure all the sentences made sense in relation to one another.

AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed reporting.

By LINDSEY BAHR, Associated Press

Ryan Coogler’s bluesy vampire thriller “Sinners,” the big screen musical “Wicked: For Good” and the Netflix phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters” are all a step closer to an Oscar nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released shortlists for 12 categories Tuesday, including for best song, score, international and documentary film, cinematography and this year’s new prize, casting.

“Sinners” and “Wicked: For Good” received the most shortlist mentions with eight each, including makeup and hair, sound, visual effects, score, casting and cinematography. Both have two original songs advancing as well. For “Wicked” it’s Stephen Schwartz’s “The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home.” For “Sinners,” it’s Ludwig Göransson, Miles Caton and Alice Smith’s “Last Time (I Seen the Sun),” and Göransson and Raphael Saadiq’s “I Lied to You.”

This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows Michael B. Jordan, foreground from left, Michael B. Jordan and Omar Benson Miller in a scene from “Sinners.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

The “KPop Demon Hunters” hit “Golden,” by EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick, was another shortlisted song alongside other notable artists like: Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner for “Train Dreams”; John Mayer, Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin for the “F1” song “Drive”; and Miley Cyrus, Simon Franglen, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt for “Dream as One” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

One of the highest profile shortlist categories is the best international feature, where 15 films were named including “Sentimental Value” (Norway), “Sirât” (Spain), “No Other Choice” (South Korea), “The Secret Agent” (Brazil), “It Was Just an Accident” (France), “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia), “Sound of Falling” (Germany) and “The President’s Cake” (Iraq).

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande in a scene from “Wicked for Good..” (Universal Pictures via AP)

Notable documentaries among the 15 include “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” “The Alabama Solution,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “Cover-Up” and Mstyslav Chernov’s “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a co-production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline.

The Oscars new award for casting shortlisted 10 films that will vie for the five nomination slots: “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners,” “Sirāt,” “Weapons,” and “Wicked: For Good.” Notably “Jay Kelly and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” did not make the list.

This image released by Netflix shows characters, from left, Mira, Rumi, Zoey in a scene from “KPop Demon Hunters.” (Netflix via AP)

Composers who made the shortlist for best score include Göransson (“Sinners”), Johnny Greenwood (“One Battle After Another”), Max Richter (“Hamnet”), Alexandre Desplat (“Frankenstein”) and Kangding Ray (“Sirāt”).

For the most part, shortlists are determined by members in their respective categories, though the specifics vary from branch to branch: Some have committees, some have minimum viewing requirements.

Related Articles

‘Popcorn Disabilities’ author Kristen Lopez looks at disability portrayals in movies

Rob Reiner: 14 movies and shows to stream

Watch five memorable ads from the Walker’s British Arrows Awards — including one with Anthony Edwards

Peter Greene, 60, actor in ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘The Mask,’ found dead in NYC apartment

Movie review: ‘Ella McCay’ a confounding film from James L. Brooks

As most of the shortlists are in below-the-line categories celebrating crafts like sound and visual effects, there are also films that aren’t necessarily the most obvious of Oscar contenders like “The Alto Knights,” shortlisted in hair and makeup, as well as the widely panned “Tron: Ares” and “The Electric State,” both shortlisted for visual effects.

The lists will narrow to five when final nominations are announced on Jan. 22. The 98th Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air live on ABC on March 15 at 7 p.m. ET.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has reached a settlement Hyundai and Kia over their sale of vehicles lacking anti-theft technology.

The carmakers’ failure to include this technology in their vehicles fueled the number of car thefts in recent years “used in the commission of other crimes and in some cases led to deaths in Minnesota and across the country,” according to a statement from Ellison.

Those eligible have one year from the date of notice from the companies to schedule to have zinc-reinforced ignition cylinder protectors installed at local Hyundai or Kia authorized dealerships. The notices are expected to go out in the first few months of 2026. Ellison is urging vehicle owners to set up an appointment as soon as they receive notices.

The cylinder protector deters thieves from accessing the ignition to essentially hot-wire a car. According to estimates from Hyundai and Kia, the cost of installing the ignition cylinder protectors on all eligible vehicles could exceed $500 million.

Where to get more information, submit a claim

For more information about eligibility and how to submit a claim from Hyundai or Kia go to: HKMultistateimmobilizersettlement.com.

Terms of settlement

Terms of the settlement the two car companies agreed to:

• Offer free ignition cylinder protectors for owners or lessees of eligible vehicles. These will include vehicles previously only eligible for software updates.

• Make sure all future vehicles sold in the U.S. have with industry-standard, “engine immobilizer anti-theft technology.”

• Provide up to $4.5 million in restitution to those eligible whose cars are damaged from theft.

• The companies will pay $4.5 million to the states to defray the costs of the investigation.

2023 investigation

This settlement comes after an investigation of the carmakers that Ellison announced in March 2023. Minnesota was the first state to investigate Kia and Hyundai for their knowing failure to include standard anti-theft technology in their cars.

According to Ellison, Hyundai and Kia chose not to include anti-theft “engine-immobilizer” technology in millions of their vehicles sold in the U.S., including in Minnesota. The immobilizer prevents thieves from starting an engine without a “smart” key, which stores an electronic security code.

Thefts of such vehicles increased 611% in St. Paul and 836% in Minneapolis in 2022 compared with 2021. Thieves have been able to break into Kia and Hyundai vehicles and start them relatively easily and quickly without keys.

Related Articles

Hyundai and Kia will repair millions of vehicles under a deal to fix anti-theft technology

Keith Ellison names team to assist renewed UMN/Fairview negotiations

Attorney General Keith Ellison joins others in SNAP eligibility lawsuit

U, physicians group, Fairview to return to negotiations on medical school

UMN Board of Regents: U physicians group acted ‘unlawfully’ in reaching Fairview deal

“Maintaining public safety means holding people who commit crimes accountable, but it also means holding corporations accountable when their greed helps criminals harm the people of Minnesota,” Ellison said in the statement. “By failing to include industry-standard anti-theft technology in their vehicles, Hyundai and Kia unleashed a wave of auto thefts that cost Minnesotans their cars, their hard-earned money, and sometimes even their lives. In short, they put their profits ahead of people’s safety.

Vehicles eligible to have the ignition cylinder protectors installed free of cost include all Hyundai and Kia models from 2011 to 2022 that were not factory-equipped with the engine immobilizers.

Ellison was joined by dozens of other state attorney generals in the investigation.