It’s a sign the economy is strong when people pay their taxes, and tax collections set a new high in Sherburne County in 2018.
A report released by the auditor/treasurer earlier this month ago shows homeowners and business owners paid 99.41% of taxes levied ($46,233,576.04) for the year.
That was up from 2017, when the county also set a record by collecting 99.27% of property taxes.
But it wasn’t just 2018 taxes that were paid. Some property owners covered a portion of their back taxes from prior years.
In 2018, the county collected $246,808.22 in taxes covering the years 2013 to 2017.
Back in 2012 with a levy of $41,759.863.50, the county collected 97.59% of property taxes. That percentage has increased every year to 98.11%, 98.57%, 98.86%, 98.99% and 99.06% in 2016.
The county also sold a number of parcels at its tax forfeit sale late in 2018, which means even more properties are now back on the tax rolls.
Gravel Tax
The county also distributed its gravel tax from 2018. 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 2017 at $453,589, topped only by Dakota Co. ($1,142,233), Washington Co. ($543,228) and LeSueur Co. ($537,114).
The amount distributed in Sherburne County for 2018 was $415,666.88 of which 5% is retained as an administrative fee by the auditor/treasurer, 40.375% is distributed to the county road and bridge fund; 40.375% goes to the general fund of the city or town in which the mine is located, and 14.25% to a special reserve fund of the county established for the restoration of abandoned pits, quarries, or deposits located within the county.
The biggest taxpayer was Tiller (Barton Sand & Gravel) at $137,048.36 for mining 913,655.73 tons of material. Knife River Corp. was next at $111,163.93. Aggregate Industries paid $86,817.78 and Plaisted Companies paid $75,923.36.
The county put $167,825.49 of the tax collected in its road and bridge fund and the same amount was split among five towns and cities where material was mined.
Elk River received the highest amount at $137,531.71. Haven Twp. was next with $27,543.42. Livonia Twp. got $2,117.39. Big lake Twp. received $496.05 and Becker Twp. got $136,92.
There was also a $20,783.36 administration fee, and the county put $59,232.54 into its gravel tax reserve fund, which now sits at $1,029.565.83.
