Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Levy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hopkins board certifies $73.05 million property tax levy; debt service rises after bond vote
Summary
After a brief Truth in Taxation hearing with no public comment, the Hopkins School Board certified a $73,051,535 property tax levy for taxes payable 2026, driven largely by increased debt service tied to a voter‑approved bond.
At a Truth in Taxation hearing held as part of the Dec. 2 board meeting, interim director of business services Didi Carring reviewed the district’s levy certification materials and explained the legal steps required to set the levy. Carring told the board: “The total amount of the levy will be 73,051,535.”
Carring described the fund breakup: the recommended general fund levy of $52,549,730.50 (about a 3% increase over the prior year), a community service levy of roughly $1,003,859, and a debt service levy of $19,497,946.03. She said the overall 5.9% increase is driven primarily by recently voter‑approved bonds, changes in referendum equalization and a mix of prior‑year adjustments and enrollment/capacity factors.
Carring also walked through examples of taxpayer impacts used in the presentation (for instance, estimated changes for a $400,000 home and a $500,000 home), and explained the state’s role in levy equalization and the UFARS reporting and MDE verification steps that follow audits.
No members of the public offered comments limited to property taxes during the hearing. Later in the evening the board moved to certify the levy as presented; the board approved the certification by voice vote and the chair announced the levy was approved.
What the levy does and next steps: the debt service portion of the levy will fund principal and interest on the district’s voter‑approved bonds; district staff will finalize levy certification documentation and submit required materials to county and state authorities as part of the property tax process for taxes payable 2026.
