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County budget staff calls state cap-loss estimate conservative as council weighs levies
Summary
Council budget staff and members discussed the DLGF's estimate that Grant County faces about $2.19 million in 2025 property tax-cap losses; staff said the figure is conservative and highlighted a 4% assessed-value growth assumption and the 2.55% local option income tax breakdown used in planning.
Grant County council members and staff discussed the county’s fiscal outlook during opening remarks of the Aug. 21 budget hearing, focusing on the state’s projected property tax-cap losses and the growth assumptions the county is using for 2025.
Jim, a council member or county finance participant identified by first name in the transcript, told the council the state’s estimate of $2,190,000 in property tax-cap losses is a conservative planning figure and said he expects assessed-value growth could reduce the actual loss. “It’s a good conservative number, but I really think it'd be a little less than that,” Jim said during the nonbinding levy review.
Jim and staff also described a 4% assessed-value growth assumption for 2025 — drawn from recent years’ experience — and noted that cities tend to show higher cap losses because they have larger levies. Council staff explained the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) forms used in the process: the advertised levies on Form 3 and the detailed form 4-b that will be updated as the process continues.
Local tax revenue breakdown: finance staff explained that the local option income tax total used in county planning is 2.55 percent, with 1.3 percent flowing to certified shares (general fund), 1 percent to property tax relief and 0.25 percent to a health-related fund. Staff said those percentages are unchanged for 2025.
Why it matters: The DLGF estimate and the county’s growth assumptions determine projected revenue and the size of advertised levies. Using a conservative cap-loss estimate can give the county flexibility if final assessed values or supplemental state distributions change before adoption.
Next steps: County staff will continue to use the state estimate for planning while monitoring actual assessed-value growth and any updated guidance or distributions from the state DLGF. The council will hear further budget details at subsequent sessions and finalize levies and the budget before the Oct. 16 adoption date.
Quotes: "We kept that number in place, but I really think it'd be a little less than that," Jim said of the $2,190,000 property tax-cap loss estimate. Staff also said that the advertised levies are intentionally higher on public forms because they cannot be increased later in the process but can be lowered.
This article reflects statements and figures read aloud and discussed in the public Aug. 21 budget hearing; some transcript passages contain typographical errors that have been corrected for clarity (for example, the county name appears in the transcript as "Grama," corrected here to Grant County where appropriate).
