On the expenditure side, streets and highways constituted the largest dollar jump, while culture and recreation costs saw the largest percentage increase.
The statewide report, which can be found here, provides a financial snapshot of cities across Minnesota, including the area of unrestricted fund balances, dollars cities rely on for a number of things, including times when they are waiting for revenue from property taxes, or when state aid dollars fall short of expectations.
Cities also use money from fund balances to take advantage of unexpected opportunities, such as buying down debt, or acquiring property. The state advises cities to maintain fund balances large enough to cover a significant percentage of a city s expenditures and cities determine their own approaches for achieving that.