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County taxation hearing calm, levy increase at 12.33 percentBy Barbara Brown Chisago County residents should expect a 12.33 percent tax increase on their property tax bills for the county payable in 2004. If the proposed budget is adopted by the county board at a Dec. 17 meeting, the levy to taxpayers would be $19.78 million to pay for services. That amount comes to a 12.33 percent increase over last yearís levy. The county board hosted a truth in taxation hearing Dec. 4 and heard a presentation by County Administrator John Moosey. Moosey told the board that while expenditures decreased for the coming year, the county will be participating in fewer state-aid highway projects and therefore will have less revenue as well. County Auditor Dennis Freed said Tuesday morning that while the overall budget decreased, tax payers still will see an increase in taxes for the coming year. Freed said tax to residents is determined by the amount of money the county must take in after revenues and expenditures are figured. The difference between revenues and expenditures is how great the levy will be on residents. This year, a home valued at $168,000 would see a tax percentage increase of 6.93 over the 2003 taxes for a tax bill of about $1,015. For the same homeowner the previous year, when the house would have been valued at about $150,000, the tax bill was about $949. For a commercial property with a value of $336,000, the tax payer would have an equal percent increase over the 2003 taxes for a bill of about $3,553. The same taxpayer would have had a 2003 tax bill of about $3,322. The board heard concerns from three residents about specific line items on their tax forms. One resident claimed lakefront homes in the Chisago Lakes area were seriously under-appraised. The man claimed that he pays more taxes on his home, valued at less than $300,000, than other pay on homes valued at nearly $750,000. The county assessors office said it will examine the appraisals. ©ECM Post Review |