As the year winds down the three taxing authorities that include Northfield within their jurisdiction are approving their budgets, and setting their property tax levies for 2024.
On Tuesday night, the Northfield City Council held its annual Truth in Taxation hearing, which is an opportunity for Northfield community members to address the City Council directly and comment on the tax levy.
City Administrator Ben Martig gave an extensive presentation on where Northfield sits with regard to tax rate and total taxes collected compared to other comparable cities. He also reiterated a long-held city goal to increase the commercial industrial tax base, and showed how bringing commercial industrial business to the city could benefit residential property taxpayers.
The Council ultimately agreed on a 9% increase to the levy and a 2024 total budget of approximately $41.3 million dollars.
The hearing, by all accounts, was not as well attended as the Rice County Truth in Taxation hearing, which was held on Thursday. Dozens of Rice County citizens turned out to voice their displeasure with a tax levy increase of 6.9%. The resistance was so strong, in fact, that County Assessor Josh Schoen was brought in to help explain the valuation system the county uses.
The county budget is subject to a number of regulatory statutes and state programs that the county government must administer. Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha said the increase or decrease in a county budget from year-to-year depends largely on what sort of funding the county receives from the state and federal government.
“If you notice, some years there are swings in our overall budget. One year it could be $94 million, in the next year it could be $90 million. And that’s based upon the funding from the state and federal government, from transportation to social services, public health, environmental services.”
The Rice County Board of Commissioners is set to vote on the county’s 2024 budget next Tuesday during their regular meeting.
Meanwhile, the Northfield School District has set its Truth in Taxation hearing for Monday night. In September the Northfield School Board set a preliminary tax levy increase at the maximum amount allowed, which works out to 3.84%. The Board will vote on the 2024 budget during the meeting on Monday night, once the public hearing has concluded.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha can be heard here
Fireworks will celebrate 25th Winter Walk
The 25th edition of Northfield’s Winter Walk will be tomorrow night in Downtown Northfield. The event, put together by the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce, has become a tradition for Northfielders to celebrate the holiday season together.
Downtown Northfield will be decorated from 2nd Street to 7th Street, while most shops along the way will be open for the celebration with special games, presentations, and refreshments. The city decorations will be hung and lit, and luminaries will line Division Street as well. Chamber of Commerce President Jane Bartho said many of the stores have decorated their windows for Winter Walk, and the Chamber is awarding prizes to the best window scenes.
“There is a window decoration contest and there will be four winners. There will be QR code for the contest posted in many, many store windows. So, look for that, click on it and then vote for your four favorite window decorations. People really, really went all out this year.”
Things begin in Bridge Square, which is the hub of the activities. The Christmas Tree will be lit at 5pm which will be accompanied by a performance from the Middle School Choir. Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus himself will be in attendance for the lighting, before Santa takes his place in his Bridge Square house.
The horse drawn wagons, a Winter Walk tradition, will transport people from one end of Division Street to the other. The Grinch will be shaking hands, taking pictures, and planning to steal Christmas at Community Resource Bank, and then, according to Bartho, will lead a not-so-secret event down Division Street at 6:30.
“I got in trouble for saying out loud that there’s going to be a flash mob, and I understand that. But I don’t want people to miss it. It’s put together by the Northfield Dance Academy. They’ll start around 6:30, and they’ll be doing their show down the street. So, they call it a flash mob, but it’s really more like a flash parade. And it’s going to be too cool to keep it a secret. I don’t want to keep it a secret.”
A special edition of the Saturday Winter Market will be held in the former Northfield News building from 5-9pm. Northfield’s guitar historian and classical virtuoso, Randall Ferguson, will perform for an hour at The Rare Pair. The Northfield Historical Society will host the Defeat of Jesse James Days’ James Younger Gang re-enactors. And Director of Library Services, Natalie Draper, said the Northfield Public Library, alongside the model railroad display that it hosts every year, will have an excellent lineup of activities and music.
“We’ll have lots of stuff from 5:00 to 8:00. We have the model train displays, and Lego displays. I think there’s going to be a Lego Titanic. We have performances by the Public Library ‘House Band,’ the Northfield Handbell Ensemble. Then three groups from the Cannon Valley Orchestra and the Troubadours will be performing in the atrium.”
And this year, to celebrate the 25th edition of the event, there will be fireworks beginning at 8:45.
Northfield’s 25th Winter Walk will run from 5-9pm tomorrow night. A full schedule of events has been published in the latest edition of the Northfield Entertainment Guide or can be found on the Chamber of Commerce website at northfieldchamber.com.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
