Remarks by Tara Jebens-Singh
71 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 3
- Play at 38:16
“And then moving to a different topic, at the top of the presentation, you had said that approximately $1.4 billion in property taxes will be collected. Can you just remind folks how many taxing jurisdictions that includes? Yes.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 38:58
“And then one other question was when we were looking at the restrictive covenants, do we have any idea of how many properties in Ramsey County still have those restricted covenants? I know that there's a, you know, kind of a search and look kind of, you know, it's not just you do a run a database, but where are we at in having a sense of how many still have covenants on it?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 39:36
“And then because while I think removing these covenants is a part of healing our community, knowing the historical harms that were done to be able to understand how we got to where we are today, is that information still held somewhere so that we can see you know, how development was influenced by such of these covenants and what that meant to our community? Yes.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 1:27:21
“I have several questions, but I'll try to keep them tight. Sure. One of them is just, can you just have a sense of which social media platforms is the county using? I mean, when I think about traditional things like Facebook Instagram and all these other things, but also are we on YouTube? What are all the different ways that we're reaching folks?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 1:30:05
“Well, a second part of that question was, and how much of our CPR team, and it sounds like very limited, has the capacity, but to be consuming, listening, learning about emerging issues and concerns so that, you know, and this could be as broad as, I know we all do this within our own districts, is, you know, whether or not we personally have an appetite for all the different programs potential platforms that have the time to consume it all, whether it's on Reddit or a backdoor app or a podcast or different things like that where Ramsey County specifically or topics that are impacting us…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 1:32:23
“Yeah, and I would really encourage us to think about what that means because what is considered media and how people are consuming information right now is anybody with a phone and an audience. And if we're not prepared to be aware of what that means as far as what's happening and how people are engaging with the issues of the day, then we're back on our heels. So I encourage us to continue to explore how we can be as accessible to the residents as possible. To that point, one last thing is I just want to say kudos on the toolkits. I will say that that has been really helpful, I think, not…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 1:34:00
“Well, only, I mean, you have limited resources. So I just was asking, you know, just as part of it. But I just want to say thank you. I think that they're extremely handy. I know I've had, like I said, I've had a number of trusted partners in community who are really grateful to be able to just share the trusted information and have it packaged in a way and to see consistent posts from cities, from community groups. from individuals, and it's all leading back to the trusted source, it means it's being successful. So thank you.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 2:25:34
“Yeah. So on the Wi-Fi expansion, one of the things I was wondering is if part of the goal is to make sure that our public has access to Wi-Fi so that they can access our services and other needs that they have. Are there any corners of Ramsey County where we don't have Ramsey County buildings that would be kind of a dead zone? And are we working with or just convening other municipalities or school districts or things just to be able to say, hey, this little corner over here doesn't have a county physical presence, but we still want them to be able to have access to Wi-Fi? Have there been…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 2:26:21
“I'm not saying that we would then take that on. I just mean to say this is what we have done to provide public Wi-Fi. We seem to have hit x percentage of the map And then to say, are there other entities who could also invest in those specific dead zones to maximize their dollars? That's what I meant, just to partner and convene and collaborate.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 2:27:32
“Yeah, yeah. And that's what I was thinking more along the lines. If you were able to map and say, here, these particular neighborhoods seem to be outside of what we've been able to kind of cover reasonably, and to see, hey, You know, Roseville, there's a corner over here that seems to be untouched. But people think it's five minutes to the library, so we feel confident. But are there places that maybe haven't been touched? So that was more of that coordination. So thank you on that. Yeah, then the other question I have is I really appreciate that we're bonding for IT infrastructure. I think…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:01:36
“OK. So you mentioned that property management does play a role in identifying some potential facilities or properties to be reviewed as part of our Building Stronger Together initiative. And I'm just wondering how much This might be another department, but conversations with our municipalities as they have dreams and visions for the development of their communities. And we are fairly built out as a county. And is that part of it? Have you had anybody knock on the door and say, well, if that corner is free, we have a vision? Or are we not really in that place yet? It's going to be a very…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:03:48
“That's great. And then another one is the managing and administering county leases and property use agreements. I'm just curious, what is the cadence for reviewing these agreements to make sure we're best positioned to maximize the county's dollars and assets?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:04:53
“Okay, great. And then taking a little bit of a twist, I was with my role with DCT, I toured St. Peter yesterday and witnessed how from staff themselves and residents there, how some intrinsic redesigns improved the experience of the people who are in those buildings as well as the safety of the people who are in those buildings. And I know that that is something that we are constantly in discussion. balance with as we modernize our spaces to be the most efficient, but also the most welcoming and also keep, again, you know, given the large, you know, public facing that we have, whether that's…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:06:55
“Yeah, I would say I think that that's something we should kind of be keeping in mind as we, and I'm sure it is, but I mean, I just raised that up. It was such a stark difference in some of the changes that they made that it's investments that I think are worthwhile in other kind of outcomes. And then lastly, I just want to raise up, thank you for sharing the cost savings on the energy consumption investments. As we are part of the JDA and Rice Creek Commons, We are often faced with folks who think that our sustainability guidelines somehow are contrary to our affordability goals, but really…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:42:45
“Yeah, I just want to say, looking at our measurements, it looks like some of the changes in procurement and contract time improvements are going in the right direction. I know that we had a workshop recently that looked at some of these updates and changes. Keeping in the lens of our chief information officers, Chaitan Ganatra, about health, there gets to be a point where you get past that initial hump, but then you get to the point where any further improvements, you know, the juice might not be worth the squeeze or the pain point is too much to get to that ever-fine amount. And I'm just…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:44:41
“OK, well, and I would just say, you all have ways of managing these things as you go through all of these different changes. We trust that process. But just to know that we independently, outside of our board time, have probably gone through change management and processes implementation. And if it starts to get too much, feel free to share that with us, right? And the other one I would just say is that on the performance measures on some of our assets, the idea of outside economic forces impact our returns. For those of us who don't do this every day, can you just give us some ideas of what…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 3:46:47
“And then I know I've asked this before, but given that we are in a time of high interest rates, is there anything within our sound and solid financial position with the AAA bond rating, with us being having some navigation in the maximum amount that we can bond for, other kinds of things, are we taking advantage of our strong position with the high interest rates right now? In the most conservative and safe way for our dollars, but I mean, given that we have some extra tools that maybe other entities don't have, how are we leveraging that?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 4:14:59
“Just a follow-up on that. I'm wondering, though, if there is a report when you are, since this is a key target measure, to be able to tear out to say here are the outliers. Yes, absolutely. And then to be able to say that's a sector-based reason, we have some internal work to do, there was a bunch of... you know, retirees in that group. We expect that that won't be an ongoing trend. I think that would be helpful, and I'm sure you're doing that internally, but then that would be helpful to show us as well.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:06:10
“Yes. Going back to the community advisory boards, we've all had a chance to be part of this now and of these interviews and one of the things that I think would really help us as commissioners, as we were reviewing applications and doing the interviews, is to have a greater nuance of the skills set and commitment of the different boards. So for instance, the watersheds oversee really large projects, significant public dollars. Those are a certain type of skill set, commitment, and responsibility. And then also knowing what Within our own departments, maybe there are some strategic projects…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:08:08
“And then another follow-up I would just say, and this is just I know that there are dashboards and other performance measures that are available, and then obviously we have a direct line to request information at any time. I know I sit on the audit chair, and I will just say I look forward. I know that we continue to build out that team and have a more robust team. internal look at some of our work there. And I look forward to a time when we have more performance measures to show our work and have more transparency to the community. And I know that's a work in progress. So just having that…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:23:41
“Yes. I just have a couple of questions just in point of protocol for greater conversation. So we received a fuller budget packet, and the addendum is a couple pages of it. When would be the time to ask some of these just overall general budget questions? Is it now? Is it later? I just want to make sure I'm doing this in order.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:24:05
“No, they're just a little broader than that. So should I throw one out? Yeah, you can throw one out. Throw one out? Okay. So this is a broader thing. When we look at the, there isn't a page number, but it just says the Ramsey County budget. Comparison fiscal year 26 approved to 27. It talks about intergovernmental revenue, and it lists the federal, state, state aides, and other governmental units. It holds relatively flat. Actually, it's down almost half a million. So that doesn't include any inflationary costs or cost of living costs or anything like that. And then there are some drops. And…”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:25:48
“Thanks. And then the other one is on the addendum, we talked about some of the different changes in the FTEs that are kind of clean up from before. Is there a way for us to get a... comprehensive FTE change in the proposed 27, or is that what this is? This is it.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 5:26:27
“It's just on a different page. Thank you very much.”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 28, 2026
- Play at 37:09
“Hello, hi. Hi. So we're kind of digesting in real time, but my question for you is, and perhaps I know we're in the performance indicators, but you said there's an additional $2 million that is going towards eviction prevention?”
Board of Commissioners · Aug 27, 2026