On Monday night, the Northfield School Board held its annual Truth in Taxation hearing before setting the budget for the 2024-2025 school year.
Northfield Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Matt Hillmann, said the district’s property tax levy will increase by 3.84% next year, for a total tax amount of $21.9 million dollars. Over the years, Hillmann said, the average levy increase has been about 1.88%. This year’s increase is higher than normal, he said, and there are reasons for that. Inflation, of course, is a primary reason. Increased pricing has hit education harder than most industries. This past spring the Minnesota State Legislature voted to substantially increase the amount of money it gives to schools every year and has tied that increase to the inflation index. However, the district will not begin to see the increase to school funding until the 2024-2025 school year begins, and even then, the state funding represents about 70% of the school district’s budget. The rest is made up from levied tax income.
Dr. Hillmann said, regardless of the tax increase, a person who lives in a $350,000 house that did not add value in 2023, would see a surprise on their bill this year.
“In the ‘Unicorn’ event that your house stayed at the same exact valuation as it did last year, which, again, is highly unlikely, your school taxes would have actually gone down 6%. Now we know that nobody’s valuation stayed the same, but I like to share that because I do think it shows some fiscal stewardship.”
According to the presentation given to the board, the levy covers costs that the state money does not. Aside from providing 25% of the district’s general fund budget, it also provides the necessary revenue for the school to pay down to pay its debt obligations.
As an aside, Hillmann added that the Northfield Middle School debt was retired in 2023, and that building is now fully paid for.
The tax money also includes voter approved levies as well as state authorized levies. Last year, the district voters approved an increase to the Capital Facilities levy by $750,000, which drove the overall levy increase.
Hillmann said there was a revision made to the current school year budget, which is quite common at the end of a calendar year. The revision affected the amount of money the district will be able to hold in reserve this current school year.
Dundas tax levy will increase just over 10%
The Dundas City Council also met on Monday night to approve the City of Dundas budget and tax levy for the coming year.
Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen said the council approved an increase to Dundas’ property tax levy of 10.16%. She said that increase would net the city an extra $156,000 for the year.
Teppen said there are several projects in the works that will be funded by the levy increase. The city intends to build a new and much needed cold storage building at the Dundas Public Works facility sometime in 2024. She also said the city has decided it will no longer contract out its needs for lawn-mowing, and therefore will bring the service in-house. That, she said, will require new equipment and new employees.
“We are no longer going to contract out our mowing services. We’re bringing that in House, so we need to purchase two commercial lawnmowers and push mowers as well. We will also need to hire a couple of seasonal people. So that’s a good portion of the increase. We haven’t purchased them yet. We’ll get that going after the first of the year.”
During the previous meeting in late November, the Dundas City Council adopted a franchise agreement with Xcel Energy. Similar to the plan Northfield agreed to three years ago, the fees will be designated to help fund the city’s Pavement Management Plan.
The Funding of Pavement Management Plan projects, such as the scheduled reconstruction of Forrest and Depot Streets in 2024, will be provided through a combination of general tax levies and franchise fees.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen can be heard here
Rice County Behavioral Health Services honored by State County Association
Rice County and its Behavioral Health Services Unit has been recognized for its work to help residents with chemical and mental health issues.
The Association of Minnesota Counties conferred the award on Rice County during their annual conference last week. The award honors innovative, effective county government programs that strengthen services for that county’s residents.
The unit’s creation was part of a December 2021 decision to combine the Social Services and Community Corrections departments in an effort to streamline services.
The Behavioral Health Services unit consists of a Treatment Court coordinator, a chemical health social worker, three community-based coordinators and a supervisor.
Community-based coordinators are embedded with the three largest Rice County law enforcement agencies and co-respond as necessary anywhere in the county whenever they are needed, providing short-term support and offering mental health and chemical health treatment service referrals as appropriate.
In its first year, the unit received nearly 630 referrals, 300 from detainees in the Rice County jail. Only about 22% of those offered services or information about available resources declined them.
The unit’s existence allowed the county to apply for and receive an $800,000 federal grant to enhance the Rice County Treatment Court and a $1 million federal grant supporting two programs, the Police-Assisted Recovery and Deflection (or PARD) Program, and the Pre-Charge Adult Diversion Program. Both programs were recently launched by the County, local law enforcement agencies and the county’s nonprofit partners.
PARD is a joint effort between Rice County Community Services and county law enforcement agencies. A police-led initiative, its goal is to reduce criminal justice involvement and improve outcomes for those struggling with substance use disorder by offering immediate support services through connecting people in need with Community Based Coordinators. Services are offered in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner and may include pre-treatment housing, recovery coordinators, peer recovery specialists, post-treatment housing and ongoing support services.
County residents in need of support services for substance use disorder are encouraged to self-refer to the PARD program. Prior legal involvement, charges or consequences are not necessary for eligibility. For more information visit the Rice County website at ricecountymn.gov.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
