Seven Things to Know about Your Property Taxes

With the St. Louis Park City Council scheduled Monday to approve its 2011 tax levy,  St. Louis Park Patch—with the help of city assessor Cory Bultema and other St. Louis Park resources—wants to help figure out what this means for you.

1. What is a tax levy?

It is the total amount of money an entity such as a city or county wants to raise through taxes. In St. Louis Park, the levy is money the city plans to raise in 2011 by taxing all properties across the community. In 2010, the city raised $22.4 million from property taxes. The city is likely to increase that amount for 2011. Initially, council approved a preliminary levy increase of nearly 4.9 percent. However, on Monday, council is likely to approve a levy that is 4 percent higher than last year's levy.

2. Does that mean my overall property taxes are going up 4 percent?

Not necessarily. The city is just one of several entities that taxes you. Others include the county and school district, which set their own levies in addition to the city's. Your overall property taxes are a result of all these levies.

3. How does my property value come into play?

The city's levy is an overall tax distributed across the community. As such, any change in the value of your property matters most in relation to the value of all other residential properties in the city. If your home's value goes up while other values remain flat, your home becomes a bigger piece of the levy pie. Even if your home has decreased in value, it may have decreased at a lesser rate than your neighbor's house did. Again, your home would be proportionally more valuable.

4. So how do I know if my city property taxes are going up?

Average home values decreased last year by 4.6 percent in St. Louis Park. Homes right around that mark are looking at tax increases, as are those that decreased at a lesser rate or even increased in value. However, homeowners on the other side of 4.6 percent are more likely to see small tax increases, no tax increases or even tax decreases.

5. How do overall property taxes across the community shake out?

Based on the preliminary 4.9 percent levy increase, 22 percent of property owners in St. Louis Park are looking at reduced property taxes (This figure was 68 percent in 2010). Another 37 percent stand to see anywhere from no change to a 4.9 percent increase. The largest chunk of homeowners—39 percent—face increases of between 5 and 9.9 percent. About 2 percent of homeowners will see increases of 10 percent or higher.

6. How do property taxes in St. Louis Park compare with those elsewhere?

For 2011, St. Louis Park's city property taxes are 19th highest among 46 Hennepin County cities. In overall property taxes, the city ranks 23rd.

7. What effect would going from a 4.9 percent to a 4 percent city levy increase have on my tax bill?

Generally, the impact would be minimal. For a house valued at the city median of $220,000, the slightly smaller levy increase would mean just $8 in savings for the entire year. If the levy increases by 4 percent, as expected, this median home will generally see its share of city property taxes go up by about $60 for the year (about a 7 percent increase). Overall, the increases in city taxes would range from about $25 for properties valued at $140,000 to about $220 for homes valued at $670,000.