'Brace Yourself' Minneapolis

Minneapolis I have been meaning to do a similar post about Richfield based on a Sun Current article, but I guess this one is coming first because it is on the front page of the Red Star site today. I'm in Scotland, but nothing changes back home for my friends in the northern part of SD63.

Minneapolis school board sets 9.9% increase in 2006 levy Steve Brandt, Star Tribune September 28, 2005 MPLS0928 Brace yourself for a sharp increase in school taxes if you own property in Minneapolis. The school board Tuesday set a preliminary levy for 2006 that's up 9.9 percent, and it's expected to use all of that when it sets the final amount in December. That's because most of the increase is replacing aid the state once paid but is shifting to local taxpayers. This year's levy dropped 2.48 percent. The typical single-family homeowner will pay one-third more in property taxes next year once the increase in market value is figured in. That's $160 more for just the school portion of the tax bill, which accounts for about one-third of the total bill. A public hearing on the levy is scheduled for Dec. 6. That higher tax will generate an additional $11 million, pushing the total levy to $122 million. One factor adding $1.7 million is a built-in per-pupil escalator contained within the class-size limitation approved by voters. The district also plans to levy $327,000 that will help it gain $900,000 in state aid for performance-based teacher pay. The median limited market value for a Minneapolis single-family dwelling is rising to $168,000, or a 14 percent jump. Between that increased value and the levy increase, the school tax on that property jumps from $488 to $648. The board's preliminary levy would raise the school tax on a $500,000 commercial building by 11.3 percent. But if that building's value rose $75,000, the school tax would jump by 31 percent. This year for the first time, local governments are permitted by the Legislature to include a limited explanation when "truth-in-taxation" statements containing estimated tax bills are mailed. But the decision on whether to include those explanations is up to county boards, which mail the statements. Hennepin County has not decided whether to do so. The other major components of a Minneapolis tax bill are the city levy, which will increase by as much as 8 percent, and the Hennepin County levy, which will rise by almost 4 percent.

Source: Star Tribune, September 28, 2005