Government Information
Stearns County takes pride in providing quality service to its residents. Some of those services include: roads and bridges, law enforcement, environmental and land issues, emergency management, human services, public health, veterans services, licensing,property tax management, and parks and trails. All of these services and more are provided at one of the lowest costs per resident of any county in Minnesota.
Serving approximately 138,000 people, Stearns County’s Board of Commissioners has five members, each elected by the residents in their district. The Board adopts rules and policies, sets a budget and levy, approves a capital improvement plan, makes land-use decisions and ensures citizen concerns are met. The Board also appoints a County Administrator to oversee policy implementation, Department Directors and daily operations of the County. In addition, Commissioners appoint the Human Services Director, County Assessor, Environmental Services Director, Highway Engineer, Parks Director and Veterans Service Officer. Learn more about the County Board.
Besides the Commissioners, there are four other elected positions in Stearns County: the County Attorney, Sheriff, Auditor-Treasurer and Recorder. These positions also serve 4-year terms.
St. Cloud is the Stearns County Seat, with the main Administration Building and Law Enforcement Center in downtown St. Cloud and 10 outlying offices in locations throughout the County.