How Do St. Louis Park's Taxes Compare with the Rest of the State?

Original version of this story by local editor James Warden

St. Louis Park residents will see their taxes grow next year, with the increase being significantly higher than that facing taxpayers in other communities, according to a Tuesday Minnesota Department of Revenue release of preliminary property tax levies.

State law requires local governments to set a preliminary levy by Sept. 15. After citizens have had an opportunity to learn about proposed tax levels at Truth-in-Taxation hearings, the governments must then set a final levy by Dec. 27. The final levy can be lower than the preliminary levy, but it can’t be higher.

(School district figures include voter-approved referenda.)

The City of St. Louis Park levy is set to grow by 3.5 percent—about a point-and-a-half more than the 2.1 percent growth for cities across the state as a whole.

St. Louis Park school district taxes are scheduled to increase even more The district’s levies are on track to climb by 13.08 percent compared with the overall state increase of 2.6 percent.

School levies were initially set to decrease by $59 million statewide. But that changed last week when voters approved $119 million in new and renewed referenda, resulting in a $60 million increase.

St. Louis Park was one of those districts to approve levies. It approved three referendum questions: a technology levy that will bring in about $1.75 million per year for ten years; a $14.9 million, nine-year building bond; and an operations levy that will take in $1.1 million per year for ten years.

Hennepin County, on the other hand, is on track to fall below the statewide increase—0.98 percent compared to 1.5 percent.

The graphs above show the percentage changes for city, school district and county levies across the state. Compare your taxes to nearby areas or click on “Percent Change” to sort by the size of the increase. Then tell us in the comments section below how you feel about your taxes.