County Officials Sound Alarm About Potential for Soaring Property Taxes

(KNSI) – Stearns County officials say attempts to balance the budget at the state level are shifting too much of the cost to local leaders.

The legislature and governor’s office are trying to force counties to pick up the tab for state-mandated services. Recent estimates suggest property taxes will have to go up statewide by as much as $200 million if the proposal passes.

Administrator Mike Williams says, “We understand difficult decisions must be made, but relying on local levies and higher property taxes to close the state’s budget gap is not sustainable or fair. Instead, we need real solutions that balance the budget at the state level or ease the cost of mandates for counties.”

Stearns County expects its tax levy to jump between $9.2 million and $11.6 million per year, an increase of as much as 11.9% in property taxes. Officials say this is similar to what was done in the late 2000s, a move that led to record hikes.

Commissioner Tarryl Clark is the president of the Minnesota Inter-County Association. She says the move comes after operating costs for county governments took off post-pandemic, putting the American Dream at risk. “Homeowners are already facing escalating inflation, energy, and general cost of living expenses. Further relying on property taxpayers to fund government will only add to the pressure of homeownership, particularly among those families and individuals just barely making it. Minnesota needs a more balanced, sustainable method of funding government services, one that doesn’t unfairly burden property owners already stretched thin.”

___