Saint Paul is officially handing Ramsey County a new set of keys to its housing levy, clearing a path for more money to flow into neighborhood business support instead of only bricks and mortar.
The city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority voted on June 3 to let Ramsey County redirect a slice of its existing HRA levy into county-run business programming, including technical assistance, workforce training and commercial corridor cleanups. Those county-funded projects inside Saint Paul will still need local signoff, but the move opens the door for a new round of help for small businesses without raising a new tax.
At the June 3 meeting, the HRA board adopted Resolution RES 26-889, which uses the city’s authority to opt in to the Ramsey County Economic Development Authority, and passed the measure as amended, according to the St. Paul HRA minutes. County staff sat alongside HRA commissioners to walk through how the revamped program would work and to field a flurry of questions.
What the County Can Fund
The new EDA authority, created by state legislation approved last year and formally put in place by the county board late in 2025, significantly broadens what HRA levy dollars can touch beyond traditional housing projects. Local guidance sent to cities spells out eligible uses such as technical assistance and capacity building for business support organizations, worker training, data and research, downtown revitalization, commercial corridor work and mixed use development. A full rundown of those focus areas is laid out in county implementation materials that went to local governments, including the packet for the City of Arden Hills.
How Much Saint Paul Could Get
County staff have projected that roughly 1.5 to 2 million dollars a year could be carved out of the existing HRA levy for beefed up business support across Ramsey County, according to Ramsey County. Local coverage has pegged Saint Paul, as one of the county’s biggest jurisdictions, as potentially landing around 1,000,000 dollars a year if about half of that set aside lands inside city limits, a ballpark figure reported by MyVillager.
Timeline And City Signoff
Cities were asked to pass opt in resolutions by June 1, 2026 so Ramsey County could lock in the EDA’s territory and finalize its budgets. That deadline and rollout plan were spelled out in agenda packets circulated across the county. Both county and city documents state that the expanded programming is expected to kick off in 2027, and they underline that any specific project using HRA funds inside a city will still need that city’s explicit consent. One example appears in materials sent to the suburbs, including an agenda for the City of Little Canada.
County officials have pitched the shift as a way to stretch existing levy dollars at a time when neighborhood businesses are asking for more help. “By unlocking this flexibility, we can invest 1.5 to 2 million dollars annually in business support and entrepreneurship programming,” Ramsey County leaders wrote in a county bulletin, noting that the new approach rides on last year’s legislation and the county board’s establishing resolution.
