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Office of the County Administrator <br />Cil 326 Laurel Street, Suite 13 • Brainerd, MN W01 9218 -824 -1067 <br />Timothy J. Houle <br />September 19, 2011 <br />Greetings City /School/Township Officials: <br />In the last Legislative Session, the Legislature and Governor sunset the Market Value Credit <br />program, which was a relief program targeted to homeowners, in an effort to reduce the State's <br />expense for this program. Across the state, that is a reduction of over $100 million in state paid <br />aids to reduce local property tax burdens. Those funds that you may have received in past years <br />will not materialize in 2011, which, on a statewide basis, means a "built -in" property tax <br />escalator of over 3 %, unless you reduce your levy to offset this loss of state aid. This reduction <br />in state aid is likely to increase taxpayer sensitivity as property taxes will likely rise. <br />In an effort to provide some continuing relief to homeowners, however, the Legislature and <br />Governor established a market value exclusion that excludes a certain amount of a homeowner's <br />value from property taxes. Because the two programs use different methods to calculate how <br />much relief a particular homeowner received under the old program compared to the new, there <br />are winners and losers. Compounding the issue, those winners and losers will vary widely from <br />one jurisdiction to another and from one tax class to another based on your historical tax rate and <br />the unique mix of property classes within your jurisdiction. This "shift" of tax burden will be <br />more of a substantial shift in property tax burden from one property tax class than any shift that <br />has occurred in recent memory. <br />We are inviting you to attend a special session for local public officials to explain how the two <br />approaches work and what types of shifts are most likely to occur. Feel free to bring other staff <br />or elected officials that you deem most appropriate to this topic. <br />With re s, <br />imothy J. Houle <br />County Administl <br />TJH/j j s <br />AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />