IRRRB approves $31.2 million as mining revenue fully recovers

The IRRRB approved a $31.2 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year at its meeting this morning. The funds will cover many different projects around the Iron Range, among them a notable new effort to restore decaying housing stock in the old towns of the Range. This is an increasing economic and aesthetic problem in our towns.

This budget reflects a full recovery from the mining downturn of 2009. Because the IRRRB operates on a three-year average of mining production tax revenues, it is now working with three years of largely robust mining income. This budget allotment will stay about this size until the mines slow down again. CORRECTION: Commissioner Sertich has informed me that the mines pay a year after production, so next year's budget will be the one that reflects the full recovery from the 2009 downturn.

To remind, the mining production tax is what Iron Range mines pay in lieu of local property taxes. The money is then distributed to local units of Range government, mostly for property tax relief, but also for public works projects and programs designed to rehabilitate the Range economy.