The Sherburne County Board Tuesday approved the preliminary 2020 property tax levy in the amount of $50,619,077.

That represents a 4.94% increase over the 2019 levy of $48,235,236.

Assistant Administrator Dan Weber said the increase has been lowered from the original proposed amount.

“At our budget workshop in August, staff recommended a budget with a 6.5% levy increase,” he said. 

Since that time there have been cuts and other actions to reduce the increase, including eliminating requests for additional fulltime staff in Human Resources and Information Technology, and a part-time intern in the GIS department. 

A fulltime staff request in the Auditor-Treasurer Dept. was reduced to a part-time position.

Non-levy dollars were used to fund a county planner position in Health & Human Services and a project coordinator position in the sheriff’s office.

Staff also delayed hiring a GIS technician until July 1, 2020 and a probation officer until Oct. 1, 2020.

Expenses were reduced in multiple departments, saving over $100,000 and allowing the levy to be lowered.

Weber said the county’s tax base is expected to increase 6.25%, helping to keep the tax rate down. He said although the numbers aren’t final, the tax rate will be lower in 2020 - the sixth straight year.

The impact: If an individual’s property value remained the same, a property valued at $150,000 would see a decrease from $605 to $598 in county taxes.

A property valued at $300,000 wold see a decrease from $1,389 to $1,372.

However, with the 6.25% tax base increase, property values will be higher. The tax impact on a $250,000 property will likely see a $5.50 per month increase.

The preliminary levy can still be reduced, but not increased. The county board will vote on the final levy in December.

TLID Budget

The board also approved the 2020 Three Lake Improvement District (TLID) budget of $36,400.

The TLID covers three lakes - Julia, Briggs and Rush Lakes in Palmer Twp., all part of the Briggs Lake chain.

Over $30,000 of the 2020 budget is dedicated to managing aquatic invasive species.

Based on 433 parcels in the district, each property will be assessed $84.06 in 2020. That assessment was $101 per parcel in 2019.