Ramsey County’s board finalized its budget this week, barely altering the original proposal presented by the county manager in August.

Unanimously and with all board members in attendance, commissioners voted to increase the county’s total budget to $763 million by 2021, up from the $738 million approved budget this year. That includes a 4.75 percent levy increase for 2020.

Board member Victoria Reinhardt made a last minute attempt to pull The Ponds at Battle Creek golf course — slated to be closed by the end of 2021 — out of the budget vote. But the effort failed by a vote of 5-2, with only newcomer Nicole Joy Frethem siding with Reinhardt.

Rienhardt has consistently said the decision to close the course should have involved more public input. Others on the board said the county needed to focus resources elsewhere, and noted Ramsey County still had four other golf courses, more than any other metro-area county.

During his presentation of the budget this fall, county manager Ryan O’Connor touted initiatives focusing on equity and inclusion, including $3 million for a new “transforming systems together” initiative, to be overseen by a new director-level position.

The budget also includes a significant $11 million jump — from $59 million to $70 million — in the county’s “administrative and general county purposes” costs, by far the biggest boost of any line item.

Included in that total is the county manager’s office, which is slated to get an additional 12.5 full-time employees — from 117 to 130 — in part to support the new initiatives.

LITTLE CHANGE FROM PLAN

Since O’Connor’s proposal in August, there have been slight, single-digit modifications in staffing levels in some departments, and an additional boon in outside grant dollars, but the changes constituted less than $1 million of the overall budget.

While the budget increase through 2021 is 3.4 percent, it still relies on a 4.75 percent levy increase in 2020, and an additional proposed 4.5 percent increase in 2021 — a compounded 9.46 percent increase over two years.

County officials said the disproportionate reliance on the levy to cover increases was due to cuts from other sources, including state funding.

While the 2020 levy increase was approved Tuesday, the 2021 levy increase won’t be voted on until next fall.

Assuming both levy increases pass, that means a $78 increase in taxes for the median-value $200,000 single-family St. Paul home with a median-value property value increase of $13,600.