The City of Crookston, Crookston Public School District, and Polk County have set their preliminary maximum Tax Levies for 2022. The City of Crookston’s maximum Tax Levy has been set at 10%, the Crookston Public School District’s at 7.5%, and Polk County has set theirs at 4.6%.
Altogether, taxpaying properties would see a 22.1% increase in 2022 if the levies cannot be lowered from their maximum amount. Polk County is confident it can get its levy down to around 3%, and the Crookston School District is hoping to reduce its levy to 3.6%. As for the City of Crookston, they hope to lower their levy to around a 7-8% increase. With these goals in mind, the actual Tax Levy increase for taxpaying properties would still be around a 13-14% increase.
The School District has not provided specific numbers, and Polk County is still working on its final numbers and how it will affect the taxpayers. However, the City of Crookston has its estimated amount of what can be expected with a 10% levy increase, and City Administrator Amy Finch went over an example. “I’ll use a $150,000 residential homestead as an example,” said Finch. “The estimated amount with a 10% Tax Levy for a $150,000 residential homestead would be $793 per year. This is about $66 a month if you choose to look at it in that way.”
A $200,000 commercial property at a 10% Tax Levy for the city would be estimated to pay $2,041 per year, which is factored to $170 a month. If the city can reduce the levy to an 8% increase, the amount on a $150,000 residential homestead would decrease to $776 per year, while a $200,000 commercial property would fall to $1,999 per year.
Finch understands the publics’ concerns about the increasing tax levy but wants to make sure the city avoids making cuts that will impact the community. “You can cut down to any percentage if we’re being realistic,” said Finch. “My goal is to try and avoid cuts that impact services to our community and our staff and crews’ ability to provide those services. If you don’t have enough staff or provide enough adequate equipment, it can affect our ability to serve the community.”
With that in mind, Finch mentioned the number she feels comfortable at this upcoming year. “I would be a little more comfortable with 8% for this upcoming year,” said Finch. “Staff is already discussing different alternatives and potential options, and what we need to do now is to look at what the impact will be if we go those routes.”
The School District, Polk County, and the city of Crookston will continue to work over the coming months to establish a final tax levy for 2022. All final decisions on the tax levies will be made in December.
Below you can find the City of Crookston estimates for each percentage the tax levy could be set at and how it will affect taxpaying properties in 2022.
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