Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Taxes And Revenue topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Administrator says county’s tax-exempt lands generate significant revenue that offsets levy
Summary
The county Administrator told commissioners the county’s managed tax-exempt lands and timber payments produce substantial receipts that offset local levy needs; staff will present the full analysis to the Township Association and include it in budget discussions.
Hubbard County’s tax-exempt lands generate material revenue that reduces levy pressure, Administrator told the board during the meeting.
The Administrator said the county manages roughly 163,000 acres of tax-forfeited or state-managed land and that timber and PILT-type payments generate about $1.4 million on roughly 100,000 acres in the county’s accounting, with an average payment of $11.46 per acre on managed lands. The Administrator said, by his calculation, the county receives roughly $3 million from certain exempt land classes and that those amounts are in addition to the county’s levy.
"But the real kicker is ... that $3,000,000 that we get from those tax exempt lands is in addition to our levy," the Administrator said, noting that if those acres were privately owned and classed as rural vacant land the county would need to raise levy revenue to replace that difference. He told commissioners his analysis shows that converting those revenues to levy equivalents would require a roughly $4 million levy increase to maintain current operating funds.
The Administrator said he will present this analysis to the Township Association next Monday and incorporate it into upcoming budget conversations; he also cautioned that PILT and similar per-acre payments are subject to legislative change and that those payments can vary year to year. The Administrator referenced work with AMC (Association of Minnesota Counties) staff and that the county’s tax capacity profile is heavily residential (roughly 70 percent), with Enbridge payments noted as a capital/investment source that helps manage tax capacity.
Commissioners and staff discussed that some exempt lands, such as school or church properties, differ from managed timberland in revenue and usage, and a commissioner asked staff to stress in the Township Association presentation that vacant, non-developable lands and lands that could be developed produce different fiscal outcomes for townships.
The Administrator said he will bring the numeric breakout to the Township Association meeting and to the county’s budget work sessions so commissioners and township officials can review the assumptions and legislative sensitivities.
