City Sets Preliminary Tax Levy

St. Louis Park City Council on Tuesday set its preliminary property tax levy roughly 5 percent higher than last year.

The proposed levy is $23,830,726.

By state law, the city can adjust this figure between now and the end of the year, but after Sept. 15, it can only be adjusted downward. A final levy is expected to be voted on Dec. 19.

The preliminary 5 percent increase does not necessarily mean that all St. Louis Park homeowners will see 5 percent increases in their property taxes—Hennepin County tax figures still need to be processed, as do local home valuations. City controller Brian Swanson said he hopes to present a rough idea of what taxes will actually look like for different home value ranges within the next few months.

Last year, when the levy increased by 4 percent, about 40 percent of residents saw their property taxes increase by between between 5 and 9.9 percent. Another 37 percent saw no change to a 4.9 percent increase. Roughly 20 percent of St. Louis Park residents had decreased property taxes.

The proposal to increase the levy this year would work in tandem, Swanson said, with last year's increase to help pay off the debt from .

A higher 2011 levy would also provide increased funding for two city funds—employee benefits and housing rehabilitation.

For more about city property taxes, see from last year.