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<br />By Mike Kaszuba
<br />Star Tribune Staff Writer
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<br />Property taxes on an average
<br />Twin Cities-area home went up
<br />$12 in 1999 but were held down
<br />by increases in state aid, an an-
<br />nual tax survey has concluded.
<br />The 33rd homestead proper-
<br />ty-tax survey, to be released to-
<br />day by the Citize~s League and
<br />the Minnesota Taxpayers Associ-
<br />ation, shows that taxes were up
<br />more than half a percent for a
<br />
<br />".
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />~99~~ '1999
<br />property tax .' Tax Rank
<br />la!,l~(dalej't~;i' ..i1i. ,$2,311";:",'1}
<br />Newport 2,301, 2
<br />New.'prague' ',;;ET~'~t3i' .2,25S:;";;:".;.,f,'3'N
<br />Brooklyn Center 2,228 4
<br />WaCi:lnia'~{ ',:n":'1'"t1;;;;r2,2.f:S:'T;;'W;'i;S-)]
<br />Low~ property tax
<br />H~.'.~k~':;j":j ,"K~:(;' .'.$1.474\D",i03\',
<br />Grant' 1,456 104
<br />. WestLake~~cftwP...';g:'1.3J1'.%ftil{)5;
<br />BumsTwp. 1,376 106
<br />A2~~ _ MayTwp:;V........;..........,/jt'..i,34{)."..;.;.107.
<br />
<br />ALSO INSIDE:
<br />>- A look at how 107 metro_cOJJ'lmunities rank.Qll property taxes._
<br />
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<br />
<br />. :::: ,'. .; " , ..~~., .ft.. - ., 'if: ". ...:~1r8t$2,311~ona$125,OOohomein
<br />:' < ; : . ; I: , ..". . " :. ,p.: .:.. ~, _, ..... .." '. -^,;e" ~. ' : '. ,~~ ~,\!M..999.ln contrast, according to a new .
<br />i ~ . ~ . ~,,~ .I/- ' "'. ' "~.. . . ~ ~ .../ ''1 ,.. ',', -.", ~ ~) ''jy: ~ ~ ...." l; ,." . I.,,,,; ''-.c .' /'. ~~1~.~'study, a small group oftownships.and.~! -;
<br />I . ':,' ~ :,: I ' . ,: ". ....1 ~ '~~, ',', , _ ',' ",,~. f~) ,', ',,~'I.','~~,:t . ~,l:'/, :~~:~\:,' , :. <. ;:...:, ',,'; ,': .'~i~~11.J._,.'.~.:.~,i~~. ....:l: ~~i>!~r.:....,:.~~l.,..
<br /> ~':l'" . W h' gt d Anok ti '.,
<br />. ., ''" ., , . , ~ . '" ", '. a" " " " ;,' '.... t' '.-, .\,.,..,J. 'i,<;",.~.~" ,,~0...." ," ,,*f.~cities'n as In on an ." .acolln es.:: ;
<br />
<br />"~':S' e'e"'..... mO"?' ., ",' e""'s' '''':':~r''''.I''S"''''\'':''~''e''''''~;.:'0!~=~' ,,' "\';
<br />
<br />{ g 'priced '
<br />'.. . . . .:.... ....,;:..,(".::t';<~.....i,.:H::,,;i<.~;;~~j\i~i'fl}~~~ {....~ome.ll
<br />
<br />typical, $125,000 home. Most tax' 'tal tops the list of 107 communi-- . '
<br />bills, however, also will be' af- ties that were surveyed in the I
<br />fected by rising property values ... seven-county metro area: Next- I'
<br />- up 6;3 percent in the metro . are Newport; . New Prague :- I'
<br />area....'. ' which had)ed the rankings for .
<br />The rankings again offer a de- several years - Brooklyn Center I
<br />tailed look into the state's com~ and Waconia. .' .... '
<br />plex property-tax picture. ' Minneapolis was sixth a year-
<br />One of the metro area's ago but 11th this year. St. Paul
<br />smallest municipalities, the St, rose from 15th to 13th. .
<br />Paul suburb of Lauderdale, has Outstate cities were ranked
<br />the distinction of having this on a $75,000 home value.
<br />year's highest property taxes on
<br />a $125,000 home. The $2,311 to- TAXES continues on A22
<br />
<br />~
<br />
<br />TAXES from A1
<br />Rep~rt says state 11!O':L~Y .helped
<br />keep property tax increases low
<br />
<br />Among 131 outstate cities sur-
<br />veyed, Staples was on top, with a
<br />$1,383 property-tax bill. It was
<br />followed by Thief River Falls,
<br />Cambridge and Princeton.
<br />The study said a series oflegis-
<br />lative changes held down in-
<br />creases this year, including $59
<br />million used to lower the share of
<br />education funding that falls on
<br />property-tax payers. The study
<br />also pointed to a significant in-
<br />crease in an education credit for
<br />homesteaded properties, first in-
<br />troduced last year. With. the
<br />change, the state paid an addi-
<br />
<br />tional $145 million of homeown-
<br />ers' school tax bills.
<br />
<br />Behind the numbers
<br />
<br />The reasons behind a city's
<br />ranking can be complicated.
<br />Lauderdale's ranking, accord-
<br />ing to the survey, was fueled not
<br />so much by what the city charged
<br />on a $125,000 home, but rather
<br />what was levied by Roseville In-
<br />dependent School District No.
<br />623, which covers the city.
<br />The city's share of the total
<br />property-tax bill was $464, or 20
<br />percent. The school district's por-
<br />
<br />tion, however, was $986, or near-
<br />ly 43 percent. The Roseville dis-
<br />trict ranked first among 55 met-
<br />ro-area school districts for prop-
<br />erty taxes on a $125,000 home.
<br />In addition, Ramsey County's
<br />portion of the tax bill in lauder-
<br />dale is $752, or 33 percent. The
<br />county ranked fourth among 19
<br />metro-area county taxing districts
<br />in property taxes on a $125,000
<br />home. .
<br />"I figure as long as we're in the
<br />same school district, the same
<br />county, we're going to continue
<br />to be as high," said Rick Gets-
<br />chow, Lauderdale's city adminis~
<br />trator. "We've kept our [city] Jevy
<br />flat for the las~ year or two. ".
<br />According to the study, Lau-
<br />derdale ranked 35th among the
<br />107 metro cities for its portion of
<br />the total bill.
<br />
<br />Newport's No. 2 overall rank-
<br />ing was linked to a referendum
<br />by South Washington . County
<br />School District No. 833, to prop-
<br />erty values that are lower than
<br />the metro average and to the fact
<br />that it was home to the census
<br />tract with the highest poverty rate
<br />in Washington County, said City
<br />Administrator Larry Bodahl.
<br />"We've never been inthe elite
<br />before," Bodahl said. "It's not
<br />something we have sought."
<br />
<br />L
<br />
<br />'You can't telr
<br />
<br />l.ynn Reed, research director
<br />for the Minnesota Taxpayers As-
<br />sociation, said some cities may
<br />be unfairly blamed by taxpayers
<br />for property-tax increases. "We've
<br />got to clear up what jurisdictions
<br />do what, and who's responsible
<br />for the tax," he said. "You can't.
<br />tell if it's the city if you look at the
<br />total [property-tax bill].
<br />"Cities, in my mind, provide
<br />the most property-related ser-
<br />vices of any local government,"
<br />Reed said. "Counties are becom-
<br />ing the biggest piece of the prop-
<br />erty-tax bill, especially outstate."
<br />But even counties, he added,
<br />must be judged knowing that
<br />many of their programs are man-
<br />dated by the state.
<br />Reed's point can be seen when
<br />figures in the metro area' are bro-
<br />ken down by jurisdiction. Among'
<br />the 107 cities, Bayport ranked
<br />first with the highest city proper-
<br />ty taxes on a $125,000 home.
<br />Among . schools, Minnetonka
<br />School District No. 276 ranked
<br />second behind Roseville. Among
<br />counties, Carver County ranked
<br />first.
<br />Another ranking provided by
<br />the annual study - one that is
<br />also a valuable measuring stick
<br />for taxpayers - is based on the
<br />average home value for each city.
<br />. That ranking puts Wayzata at
<br />the top, with a $6,024 property-
<br />tax bill on an average, $297.999
<br />home. . Wayzata is followed by
<br />North Oaks, Orono, Deephaven
<br />and Minnetrista - all among the
<br />area's most affiuent communi-
<br />ties. Lauderdale, in this ranking,
<br />was 85th. Columbia Heights, an
<br />inner-ring...Minneapolis suburb,
<br />was the lowest, with $923 in taxes
<br />on an average, $83,560 home.
<br />"I'm sure it's because we have
<br />some very high lake-home values
<br />that skews the average," said Al-
<br />lan Orsen, Wayzata's city manag-
<br />er. "There are some $5 million
<br />lake homes. ,
<br />"Wayzata is very unique," he
<br />added. "There are only about a
<br />thousand homes." ,
<br />For complete figures go online
<br />,. to h~:IIwww..~une.com:J; u
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