District property tax levy increases with rising enrollment
January 15, 2018
After another student enrollment increase this fall, Moorhead Area Public Schools’ property tax levy will increase 7 percent. The local property tax levy provides just 10.7 percent of the district’s budget while 83.6 percent is from state aid, according to Brandon Lunak, interim superintendent.
Following a presentation by Lunak at the Dec. 11 School Board meeting, board members approved a resolution to certify the district’s 2017 Payable 2018 Property Tax Levy, which provides revenue for the 2018-19 school year. The total levy amount is $18.9 million, which is an increase of $1,235,938 from the 2017 tax levy.
Most of the change in the levy amount is because of an increase to referendum revenue as a result of higher enrollment and an increase to Long-Term Facility Maintenance, which has been phased in over several years. The increase to LTFM is partly offset by reductions in student achievement and operating capital levies. Additionally levies for general fund – other and general fund – adjustments for prior years both increased. The debt service levy decreased because of the reduction in principal and interest based on the debt retirement schedule.
Factors that affect whether a tax bill for an individual property increases or decreases include changes to a property’s value, changes to the total value of all property in the district, and increases or decreases in levy amounts caused by changes in state funding formulas, local needs and costs, voter-approved referendums and other factors. Lunak noted that the district does not have any control over individual property and district property values being adjusted.
Included in this year’s hearing was information about the economic development property tax abatement that the City of Moorhead, Clay County and Moorhead Area Public Schools approved in September 2014. The district’s estimated abatement for the 2017 assessment is $322,612.45 for the 372 properties (340 new and 32 remodeled) that qualified for the abatement. The actual amount, which is $81,467 more than this year’s amount, will be included in next year’s levy.
Minnesota has two tax refund programs and one tax deferral program available for owners of homestead property. Information on those is available at https://www.taxes.state.mn.us.
As a normal course of business, the board approved the maximum for the preliminary levy in September. Certifying the maximum for the preliminary levy allowed the district to make adjustments before the final levy was certified on Dec. 11.
A revised budget for fiscal year 2018 will be brought to the board in January. Next year’s budget will be adopted in June 2018.
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