Public input roots out error in property evaluation notices, new notices sent

Seven county residents attended the county’s Dec. 13 Truth in Taxation hearing.
They primarily came to inquire about discrepancies in the property evaluation notices sent to the almost 8,000 parcel owners in Rock County announcing the meeting.
While the TnT public hearing is meant only to discuss the county’s 2023 budget, County Administrator Kyle Oldre and commissioners talked about the matter with residents after the meeting.
As a result, affected residents will receive a letter with the corrected market value. About 200 parcels are affected, Oldre indicated at the Dec. 27 commissioners meeting.
“The error occurred as the files were rolled over to the auditor’s office to calculate the taxes on each property,” Oldre said. “When the files rolled over, the city of Luverne was fine. When they rolled over the townships and small cities, there was a glitch in the program in that if you had a unique property — and the property was a heated garage (or other adjustments) — it increased.”
The correction lowered the taxable market value in Rock County by $2.1 million. Taxable market value is now $3.2 billion.
Despite the correction in market value, the overall tax rate for the other property classifications is not affected and will stay the same.
The commissioners approved increasing the county levy by 4.5 percent for an additional $294,000 in 2023, bringing the total to $6.8 million from local property taxes this year.
Overall, the county plans $14.1 million in expenditures.
In addition to local property taxes, other county revenue comes from county program aid ($560,000), grants, state and federal funding.
The increase in the county levy will cover increased costs in labor, insurance and material purchases across all departments. An additional $96,000 in appropriations is earmarked for health and human services.
“At 4.5 percent, that’s one of the highest increases we have ever taken and we are not anywhere near what inflation is doing to us,” Oldre said. “It’s a problem now and it’s only going to get worse.”
At 21.292 percent, Rock County has the second lowest tax rate in the state. Dakota County has the lowest.
“This board works really hard to keep tax rates low,” Oldre said.