DULUTH – The St. Louis County Board unanimously approved its 2025 budget during Tuesday's final meeting of the year — marking the first time the county's budget has exceeded $500 million.

The budgeted $504,403,199 goes toward public safety, roads and bridges, public health and human services, employee wages, community programming, infrastructure and more. It also considers inflation.

The board's finance committee chair Annie Harala said in a news release that a half-billion-dollar budget might make people wonder where it all goes. She noted that this is the largest county east of the Mississippi River and that it has an abundance of roads and three courthouses within it.

"These are things to be proud of, but also requires investment to ensure we have equitable services for people throughout the county," she said.

About a third of the budget is funded by the property tax levy. The final levy was approved at $180 million, which is a 7.23% increase from this year.