Hennepin County Board Sets Max Property Tax Levy; Publishes Public Meeting Dates

Via a September 11 Hennepin County e-newsletter:

Hennepin County board sets max property tax levy, increase of 2.75 percent.
Increase to owner of median-value home will be $36.

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved a maximum property-tax levy for 2015 of $699.9 million – 2.75 percent higher than the 2014 levy.

“Setting the maximum levy is just the beginning of this process,” said Commissioner Jan Callison, chair of the capital budget and finance committee. “We will have a series of public meetings to hear our residents thoughts on this proposal and to look thoroughly at the budget proposal.”

The impact of the proposed maximum property tax levy, along with the proposed property tax levies for the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority and Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, is an approximate increase in property taxes of $36 or 3.8 percent for a median-valued home of $219,600.

Including 2015, Hennepin County’s property tax levy has increased by an average of just 0.19 percent per year over the past four years. Changes in state and federal funding have made the county more reliant on the property tax levy to fund programs.

The board is required by state law to adopt a maximum levy in September. It may later approve a levy that is lower than that maximum, but it cannot set the levy higher than the maximum adopted today.

In November, property owners will receive a notice that shows the impact of the county maximum levy on their property, as well as the impact of taxes proposed by other local units of government, such as cities and school districts.

The board, acting as the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HCHRA), also set a maximum HCHRA property-tax levy of $7 million.

Acting as the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), the board also set the maximum property-tax levy for the HCRRA at $27 million.

The board will conduct an official public meeting to gather public comment about the proposed budget and levies on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. The board also set a public hearing for the county’s 2014-2018 capital improvements budget followed by a hearing on proposed changes to fees for county services on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m.

The proposed Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority levy and budget will be discussed Tuesday, Nov. 4, and the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority levy and budget will be discussed Tuesday, Oct. 14– both immediately following the board meeting (which starts at 1:30 p.m.)  and also at the budget meeting Dec. 2.

The final county, Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority budgets and tax levies will be adopted on Tuesday, Dec. 16, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

County Administrator David Hough presented the proposed 2014 Hennepin County budget to the board on Tuesday, Sept. 9. The board will launch a series of budget hearings beginning in October to discuss the budget and gather public input. The meetings can be viewed live on Metro Cable Network/Channel 6 or online at www.hennepin.us/boardmeetings.

All budget meetings are held in the Board Room on the 24th floor of the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 S. Sixth St. in downtown Minneapolis and are open to the public.

Budget public hearings and meetings:

Thursday, Oct. 9
Public hearing for health budget from 9:30 a.m. to noon

Tuesday, Oct. 14
Public hearing on Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority levy and budge tbeginning at 1:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 21
Public hearing for operations and library budget from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, Oct. 23
Public hearing for the county’s 2014-2018 capital improvements budget at 9:30 a.m.
Public hearing on proposed changes to fees for county services at 10 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 27
Public hearing on public works budget from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.