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Owatonna board certifies preliminary levy at maximum; levy proposed to rise 4.99% for taxes payable 2025
Summary
The Owatonna Public School District board approved a preliminary tax levy 'at maximum' Wednesday after a presentation saying the district’s levy would rise 4.99%; final certification is scheduled for December and MDE recommends approving at maximum to allow small corrections.
Lori Veil presented the district’s proposed preliminary levy, telling the board the levy "is going up by 4.99%" for taxes payable in 2025 and that the board must approve a proposed levy by Sept. 30 under state timing requirements. Veil said levy formulas are largely set by the legislature and that the district’s tax base growth and prior bond timing contributed to the current numbers.
Veil said the board should approve the levy "at maximum," which she said is what the Minnesota Department of Education recommends so that any small corrections the department makes before the final certification in December flow through without requiring another board action. She noted that, despite the local levy increase, the school portion of property taxes could decrease for many residential homesteads if assessed values remain the same due to changes in state aid and tax law timing.
Board members asked for clarification on the "at maximum" language and thanked Veil and finance committee members for work on a complex topic. After a motion to certify the preliminary levy in the maximum amount provided by law and a second, the board approved the certification by voice vote.
What happens next: the board will receive a final levy document and levy impact charts in December for final certification. The levy amount presented is for taxes payable in 2025 and the district indicated the preliminary approval permits minor administrative adjustments recommended by MDE.
Clarifying details: the presentation compared the current proposed 4.99% levy increase with the prior two years’ changes (1.75% last year and 5.94% the year before). Veil also referenced district bond and tax-base timing (including prior LTFM bond issuance and some TIF parcels returning to the tax base) as factors affecting local levy results. A specific fiscal-year end date cited in the packet for a related schedule was unclear in the transcript and is not specified here.
