About this project

Minnesota communities are being forced increasingly to make choices about taxes, services and how to balance them.

Many cities, counties and schools have trimmed their payrolls, reduced such services as library hours, street maintenance and even public safety. At the same time, the struggling economy and the state's fiscal situation has maintained pressure on local taxpayers. How do they find the level of service and financial support appropriate for their communities?

This MPR News Ground Level project explores these questions as residents and local officials try to answer them. Some places are better off economically than others; some have greater burdens than others; some approach the problem differently than other places do. This project shows those differences and offers ideas and a place to hold a further conversation on the topic.