Rep. Fabian: DNR needs to pay fair share in ditch taxes
ST. PAUL—State Representative Dan Fabian, R-Roseau, this week testified on his bill that would require the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to pay their fair share of ditch taxes on state lands. For the last 20 years, the DNR has paid little to nothing to counties, which has resulted in higher taxes for private landowners.
“Current law allows the DNR to determine how much and when they want to pay taxes on ditch systems, even though everyone else has to pay what is assessed by local ditch authorities,” Fabian explained. “As a result, the DNR is heaping the financial responsibility for ditch maintenance onto private landowners, including homeowners, farmers, cities and counties.”
As an example, the last time the DNR paid ditch taxes to Marshall County was in 2010. Their payment was $852.80 out of a total assessment of $31,363.27, with local landowners forced to make up the difference.
State law currently protects the DNR from paying ditch assessments on Consolidated Conservation (Con-Con) lands, which are state-owned properties held in the public trust for conservation purposes. Con-Con lands were established in the late 1920s and early 1930s during times of economic upheaval. Landowners were unable to pay their property taxes, which put counties at risk of defaulting on ditch bonds. The state stepped in by taking over these lands in order to help struggling Minnesota families and counties.
“The irony of the situation is that the state, which originally took over the land to help folks avoid financial hardship, is now causing extreme burdens on the people of Northwest Minnesota,” Fabian said. “This is an issue that’s been building for over 20 years, and it’s time to resolve it.”
Fabian was joined in the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee by county authorities from Northwest Minnesota who testified in favor of the bill: Lon Aune, Marshall County Engineer, Scott Peters, Auditor-Treasurer for Marshall County, and Todd Miller, Roseau County Commissioner and representative of the Joint Powers Natural Resources Board.
Roseau County Commissioner Todd Miller, Marshall County Auditor-Treasurer Scott Peters, State Rep. Dan Fabian and Marshall County Lone Aune testify at the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
Fabian concluded: “At the end of the day, the current law is fundamentally wrong and unfair. Counties, cities and taxpayers simply want the DNR to be a good neighbor—which the DNR has stated they want to be—and pay their fair share.”
House File 949 awaits a hearing in the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Finance Committee.
-30-
Representative Dan Fabian encourages constituents to contact him with questions or opinions on any state legislative issue. He may be reached at rep.dan.fabian@house.mn or 651.296.9635. Mail should be sent to Rep. Dan Fabian, 307 State Office Building, 100 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155.