City Departments Administration
Finance Department
The administration department is made up of the city manager’s office as well as the city clerk, communications, and human resources divisions. The City Manager is selected by the Blaine City Council to manage the day-to-day operation of all functions of city government. The city manager, along with the management team, evaluates issues and makes recommendations to the city council. For additional information, visit BlaineMN.gov/Administration. The City Clerk’s Office is responsible for running local elections, licensing businesses, maintaining official city records, and managing Blaine City Council meeting agendas. The city clerk also maintains a record of all council proceedings, publishes legal notices and newly adopted ordinances, and responds to city code inquiries. For additional information, visit BlaineMN.gov/CityClerk. Human Resources coordinates recruitment and hiring, conducts contract negotiations, and administers employee benefits, compensation, and job classifications. For job opportunities, visit BlaineMN.gov/Jobs. Communications develops and presents relevant, timely, and helpful public information to the community. It is the city's intent to help foster community involvement, confidence, and pride by keeping residents informed and providing opportunities for community engagement. Learn more at BlaineMN.gov/Communications. Parks and Recreation in Blaine provides a comprehensive, year-round recreational activity program for residents of all ages and includes the senior center facility and senior programs. Parks and recreation also works in cooperation with community organizations, agencies, and associations in an effort to facilitate a broad variety of recreational opportunities within the city. Parks and recreation also plans and manages city parks and recreational facilities for community use. For additional information, visit BlaineParks.com.
The finance department is composed of three divisions – finance, GIS, and information technology (IT). Finance oversees all financial activity of the City and manages four subdivisions: accounting, which oversees the payroll and accounts payable functions and is responsible for the City’s financial reporting; budgeting, which manages the City’s financial and capital planning functions; treasury and debt management, which manages the City’s banking, investment, and debt issuance functions; and utility billing, which is responsible for the billing, receipting, and account maintenance of Blaine water, sewer, refuse, and recycling accounts. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) produces maps, reports, analysis, and geospatial data as well as creating and maintaining a vast array of point, line, polygon, raster, and tabular data for the City of Blaine and surrounding area. GIS staff also maintains an online web mapping application, giving the public and city staff quick and easy access to GIS data. For additional information, visit BlaineMN.gov/GIS. Information Technology is responsible for managing the City’s computerized system of hardware and software and its supporting infrastructure that allows the exchange of information, both internally and externally, through the use of voice, data, and video. For additional information, visit BlaineMN.gov/Finance.
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Community Development The community development department consists of three divisions: planning, economic development, and building inspections. Planning functions revolve around reviewing and processing the development proposals for the Blaine Planning Commission and Blaine City Council as well as interpreting and enforcing zoning and subdivision codes. This division prepares and implements the comprehensive municipal plan, which guides land use, zoning, sewer extension, transportation, and community facility improvements or anticipated changes. They also prepare special reports and studies of redevelopment and long-range plans. Planning also oversees all land development within the City of Blaine. Staff is available to answer questions on past, current, and future development, zoning, building code changes, home
