What Happens at County Property Tax Hearings

As a homeowner, you receive a notice annually regarding taxes for your property and you may be wondering how property taxes are determined.

Well, Dakota County has an excellent “Property Tax 101” resource that provides insight into factors that affect property taxes.

Here are factors that go into determining property taxes:

• The market value of the property, based on sales in a 12-month time period for similar properties, as well as additions and improvements made to your property
• Changes in tax bases
• State property tax changes
• City or township levy changes
• County levy changes
• School district levy changes
• New special assessments, such as street improvements, water lines, etc.
• Special districts levy changes (e.g., Metropolitan Council, watershed districts)
• Voter approved referendums
• Credits (e.g., Agricultural Market Value Credits, School Building Bond Agricultural Credits)
• A change in the rates for different classes (residential, commercial and agricultural) of property

At proposed tax public hearings, there’s an opportunity to comment on proposed taxes. The hearings involve representatives of the taxing jurisdiction giving a budget presentation followed by a question and answer period.

Here our resources for a couple of other major counties in the metro area – Hennepin County and Ramsey County.