City of Frazee drops tax levy to 1 percent
News | Published on January 4, 2022 at 11:52am EST | Author: Chad Koenen
0Down 10 percent from preliminary tax levy
By Barbie Porter
Editor
Frazee residents who received tax proposals for 2022 should see a reduction in city taxes when the final bill comes due.
During its monthly meeting on Monday, Dec. 20, the Frazee City Council dropped its levy tax rate from the originally proposed 11 percent (which was the maximum allowed) to 1 percent.
A Frazee property owner attending the meeting stated if he were to receive the amount his property was assessed at, that he would “be gone like a thief in the night.”
Frazee Mayor Ken Miosek explained the county sets the property value.
The man said he would address his grievances with the proper authorities and thanked the council for their time.
After the meeting, Frazee City Administrator Jordin Roberts explained the city assessor increased property values for some properties, so the tax may increase more than the levy amount because of higher valuations.
Roberts added while the tax rate is going from 65.8 percent to 66.8 percent (or 1 percent), the total levy amount is shifting from $371,920 to $392,208 (5.45 percent).
A tax rate is the percentage used to determine how much a property taxpayer will pay. Whereas a levy represents the total amount of funds a city may collect on a tax rate.
The city coffers will see an additional $20,288 in revenues from the total levy increase. The city also saw a revenue increase in Local Government Aid. Roberts noted the LGA increase came about because the population grew. The LGA increased from $533,000 in 2021 to $538,000 in 2022.
The total revenue for the city in 2022 is projected to be $1.3 million. Aside from the levy and LGA, the city receives funding from various sources, such as police fines, administrative fees and more.
The funding sources provide the city with police coverage and criminal prosecution that may go with that service, fire and emergency response services, a library, economic development, street maintenance and lighting, snow removal, parks and trails, code enforcement, compost site, decorations, business assistance programs and much more.