Over the past decade, Minnesotans throughout our state have seen their property taxes increase every single year.
Crunch the numbers and you’ll find a whopping increase of 86 percent since 2002. Worse still, those property tax hikes disproportionately hurt the most vulnerable among us, such as senior citizens and the poor—those who can least afford to pay more. And it meant less money in the pockets of middle class families—the consumers who are the engine that powers our economy.
It’s important that Minnesotans understand why their property taxes have increased at such an alarming rate.
Cities and towns across our state fund vital services like police officers and firefighters in part through Local Government Aid (LGA) provided by our state government. Former Governor Tim Pawlenty repeatedly slashed LGA funding during his tenure. Those deep cuts forced local governments into a dilemma: either reduce services by taking steps like firing police officers and firefighters, or maintain those services and fill the funding gap by raising local property taxes.
More recently, the previous Republican-led legislature cut direct property tax refunds for homeowners and renters on top of additional cuts to LGA in 2011. The result? Statewide property taxes increased by $365 million, or 4.5 percent, with the majority of those hikes falling on Greater Minnesota.
The numbers show that the Republican approach hurts middle class families, senior citizens, and the poor. That’s why Minnesotans told me time and again on the 2012 campaign trail that their property taxes were too high and they wanted their elected officials to do something about it.
DFLers listened to Minnesotans. We heard them loud and clear. We made a promise to reduce property taxes and that’s exactly what we did.
According to new projections from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, the DFL budget will reduce property taxes in 2014 by an estimated $121 million, or 1.5 percent—the first decrease in over a decade. This is made possible by increasing aid to local governments, exempting cities and counties from paying sales tax, and providing direct relief to homeowners and renters.
Take a look at the 2014 LGA increases cities and towns in our region will receive to help them continue delivering vital services like police officers and firefighters while keeping the property tax burden down:
-
Hibbing will receive over $88,000 in additional funding, an increase of 1.10 percent.
-
Chisholm will receive over $347,000 in additional funding, an increase of 12.8 percent.
-
Keewatin will receive over $34,000 in additional funding, an increase of 9.97 percent.
-
Marble will receive an increase of $20,000 in additional funding, an increase of 9.08 percent.
-
Calumet will receive over $1,300 in additional funding, an increase of 1.15 percent.
Here’s a quick look at how the direct property tax relief will impact Minnesotans in 2014:
-
Over 300,000 homeowners will see their Homestead Credit Refund increase by an average of $212. More than 137,000 additional homeowners will qualify for a refund.
-
Over 65,000 renters will see their Renter’s Credit increase by an average of $179. More than 10,000 additional renters will qualify for a refund.
Our budget delivers on a key promise to provide property tax relief to middle class Minnesotans. With other initiatives in education like free all-day Kindergarten for every child, more funding for our K-12 schools, and scholarships to help families send their kids to preschool, we’re starting to take serious steps to build a thriving middle class and create and long-term economic growth throughout our state.
Rep. Carly Melin is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party representing District 6B. She is currently serving her second term.