ERMU Misc. 09-13-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Informational Memo I August 31, 2005 Page 2 Attached for your information is some of the 2005 property tax data for a few communities ell that can reasonable be compared to the City of Elk River. The attached list includes similar sized and mostly growing metropolitan communities; similar sized non-metropolitan cities; I and a few neighboring communities. The City of Elk River has a higher total tax rate than all twelve of the metropolitan I communities listed in the attachment. In looking at the total tax rate, the city is approximately 20% above the majority of the cities listed and this is an increase from last year. I Regarding non-metropolitan communities, Elk River is right in the middle of the pack. Six communities have a higher total tax rate then Elk River and five communities have lower tax I rates. This is identical to our standing last year. Regarding local communities, Elk River is in a similar position as Big Lake, Rogers, and Zimmerman with the other communities, including Otsego and St. Michael being lower. I Tax Capacity Composition Also available on the LMC website is information related to the tax capacity composition of I municipalities. With 44 square miles it is not surprising that Elk River still has some property being used for farming, whereby most of the other listed communities have only a very small percentage of their land being put to this use. Looking at the chart it is obvious what the I "other" category refers to for Red Wing and Becker. Overall, it seems that Elk River has a healthy balance between its residential land use and its commercial/industrial land use. Having 25% of the property being used for commercial and industrial activities helps make1111 Elk River a balanced community where people can work and live and helps dispel the notion that we are simply a bedroom commuter community. Population Update I The property tax data from LMC also includes 2004 population figures. These population figures are the same ones that are provided by the Minnesota State Demographer and the I population is as of April 1, 2004. 2000 I yr 4 yr Population I Population 2003 2004 % change % change Change City (Census) Population Population ('03-'04) ('00-`04) (`00-'04) I Albertville 3,621 4,983 5,368 7.7 48.2 1,747 Big Lake 6,063 7,707 8,303 7.7 36.9 2,240 Buffalo 10,097 12,120 12,735 5.1 26.1 2,638 I Otsego 6,389 9,356 9,893 5.7 54.8 3,504 Rogers 3,588 5,580 5,760 3.2 60.5 2,172 I Zimmerman 2,851 3,619 4,098 13.2 43.7 1,247 Elk River 16,447 18,758 20,240 7.9 23.1 3,793 Comparing the one year and four year trends provides some interesting information, It especially when looking at Rogers and Otsego. Elk River has the lowest growth rate for a '