Homeowners and businesses in Sherburne County have been very good about paying their property taxes over the years.
But according to the county auditor/treasurer’s year-end report, 2016 was exceptional.
Collections in 2016 were 99.09% of the $42,797,161.46 levy, which is higher than any percentage since 2010.
Property owners also paid off quite a lot in back taxes. In 2016, the county collected $253,346.78 in taxes covering the years 2010 to 2015.
It’s a sign the economy is strong again, and the numbers show the vast majority of people have survived the difficult times during the recent recession.
Back in 2010 with a levy of $39,829,289.94, the county collected 96.70% of property taxes. That year, $1,232,864.96 in taxes went unpaid.
Jump to 2016, and the unpaid total dropped to $322,977.05.
Road & Bridge Tax
Sherburne County received $272,636 from the state in road and bridge reimbursements.
Counties receive the disbursement every year from the state for distribution to each township. Townships in the county that have a road and bridge levy are allocated their portion of road and bridge taxes collected by the state.
The amount is based on a formula of total road miles and population.
Big Lake Twp., which has the most road miles (79.25) and population (7,625) in the county, had the highest distribution at $48,542.83.
Baldwin Twp. was next at $45,721.04, followed by Livonia Twp. at $42,299.48, Becker Twp. at $36,805.86 and Orrock Twp. ($24,646.30).
Gravel Tax
The county also distributed its gravel tax from 2016. The tax is collected on every ton (or yard) of aggregate material mined in the county.
Sherburne County is one of the top gravel-mining counties in the state. It had the fourth-highest gravel tax collected in the state in 2015 at $476,176, topped only by Dakota Co. ($1,037,270), Clay Co. ($506,071) and Washington Co. ($504,043). The amount collected in Sherburne County in 2016 was $496,127.91.
The biggest taxpayer was Barton Sand & Gravel at $222,889.07. Knife River Corp. was next at $100,630.20. Aggregate Industries paid $79,527.48 and Plaisted Companies paid $70,664.75.
Elk River received $158,119.25. Haven Twp. got $28,570.11. Another $7,488.23 went to Becker Twp., $4,940.30 to Livonia Twp. and $1,193.75 to Big Lake Twp.
The county put $200,311.64 in its county road and bridge fund and $70,698.25 in its gravel tax reserve fund. The remaining $24,806.38 covered administrative costs.
