From the mundane to the out-there, wonks on Minneapolis’ tax board have ideas for reining in your property taxes

Minneapolis as elsewhere requirements more money again That s the message property owners are expected to hear by the end of November when truth-in-taxation notices arrive in mailboxes detailing estimated property taxes Precisely how much money depends on the city s final budget set to be voted on by the City Council on Dec Leading up to the vote the council is hearing residents comment on Mayor Jacob Frey s proposed budget which increases property tax rates by the maximum limit set by the city s Board of Estimates and Taxation or BET Traditionally the BET has been a bit of a wallflower But if Minneapolis residents want to know if property taxes stand a chance of coming down in future years they should pay it particular attention The board which has existed for more than a century comprises two directly elected administrators two council members one member of the Park and Recreation Board and the mayor It is majority of well-known for setting Minneapolis maximum tax levies each year Think of the BET like parents during a family budgeting process and the city s revenue like the family s income The BET says Here s how much we have and here s how much we need to pay for the things this family wants But the BET plays a larger role too as a sort of adviser to the city on how to finance its billion budget without an overreliance on residential property tax revenue Due in part to steep declines in downtown real estate values and the resulting loss in commercial property taxes Minneapolis homeowners will cover about of property tax collections this year up more than since Related Why is largest part of the North Loop excluded from the special Minneapolis downtown sales tax district Neither the mayor nor the City Council want to raise taxes declared Eric Harris Bernstein who won a seat on the BET in elections earlier this month He ll be joining returning member Steve Brandt as one of the board s two directly elected members To raise money without raising taxes requires particular creativity Going along with the parent analogy part of the BET s role is to suggest other money-making options a lemonade stand here a garage sale there maybe an income tax on kids allowances an admittedly unpopular idea To a city wonk these moves to make more money without loading the average resident with higher property taxes are called diversifying your revenue Bernstein and Brandt both proud city wonks ran for their seats on the BET with big ideas to diversify revenue From the incremental to the out-there here are a scarce they d like to put up for debate Extend the downtown liquor lodging and restaurant tax district to cover more of the North Loop Right now the district created to fund stadium construction covers preponderance of downtown and parts of the East Bank but excludes the North Loop above the Cedar Lake rail trench Various local executives want to extend it to Plymouth Avenue Impose a city income tax on high earners Brandt has proposed a city income tax on households earning more than per year In an interview he reported the BET first necessities to scrutiny other cities that have imposed similar taxes to weigh their impact A February summary commissioned by the Philadelphia City Council called that city s wage tax a source of deep dissatisfaction that drives nearly half of city residents to commute to jobs outside the city limits Myron Orfield director of the Institute for Metropolitan Opportunity at the University of Minnesota recounted MinnPost that a Minneapolis income tax could backfire in a similar way It would make more sense to impose such a tax across the entire seven-county metro area he noted A land value tax that could encourage more productive land use On his campaign website Bernstein stated he is interested in exploring a separate tax on the value of land itself rather than buildings and other improvements A few economists say land value taxes discourage property speculation while spurring evolution One investigation revealed the number of vacant properties in Harrisburg Pennsylvania declined more than in the years after it enacted a modified land value tax Voluntary payments in lieu of taxes or PILOTs by tax-exempt nonprofits and congregations that receive city services despite not contributing to the tax base The National Council of Nonprofits a lobbying group strongly opposes the idea but Brandt revealed tax-exempt entities like his own church which remains in one piece thanks to quick action by the Minneapolis Fire Department a sparse years ago might be willing to pay up In Massachusetts the national capital of these arrangements about one in five municipalities received PILOT payments But nonprofits generally pay far less under them than comparable for-profit entities would pay in property taxes In payments by four large Boston-area universities ranged from to of their theoretical property tax burden A local transfer tax on Minneapolis real estate sales similar to taxes already imposed by the state and Hennepin County With thousands of properties changing hands in Minneapolis each year even a small levy would add up Brandt reported More income-producing facilities on constituents property The city and Park Board are already on the right track with park refectories like Sea Salt a major warm-season draw and income source for Minnehaha Park Bernstein reported Last year the Park Board netted more than million from its restaurants golf courses ice rinks and other facilities Invest more ambitiously in what Bernstein calls inhabitants goods like social housing Bernstein singles out the Housing Opportunities Commission of Montgomery County Maryland which pulls triple duty as a inhabitants housing authority housing finance agency and not-for-profit housing developer It has created hundreds of units of high-quality housing at minimal ongoing cost his campaign website commented In fiscal year the commission earned about million in non-grant revenue mostly though rent payments Unfortunately Brandt stated discussion of diversifying revenue comes with a big asterisk The Minnesota Legislature would likely need to approve any substantial changes to Minneapolis tax procedures including much if not all of the above That puts the city at the mercy of the legislative calendar in a statehouse split evenly between the DFL and Republican parties Even relatively straightforward ideas are languishing there he explained like a proposal to expand the downtown liquor tax district that has idled at the Capitol for two years At best would be a laying the groundwork session to get us ready for Brandt explained when an expanded DFL majority could give the city s more ambitious revenue-raising proposals their due The post From the mundane to the out-there wonks on Minneapolis tax board have ideas for reining in your property taxes appeared first on MinnPost