01-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 12, 2022 6:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 of 14 Ron Potas, 2190 Shadywood Road, thinks it is admirable that Orono is substantially lower than most communities in the area. However when he received his property taxes for 2023 it reflected something quite different. He asked if one has not done anything to their home in 15-20 years and it is just increased inflation, how can the tax rate for Orono be substantially (50%) above and beyond the norm. Mayor Walsh replied the City’s tax rate has been the same for about 7 years. If the value of one’s house has gone up, the same tax rate would be applied against the increase in value of the home. He noted the tax rate has gone down from the previous year in the City. Mr. Potas calculated Hennepin County property taxes for 4 years, as well as the City of Orono’s portion and the school district, and shared his results and percentages. He asked how they account for the huge increases in property tax. Mayor Walsh noted a main issue in the City has been making sure the tax rate does not go up. In looking at the tax statement, it all depends on what the value of one’s house is. If a house goes up 40%, then taxes are likely going to go up 40%, also. He noted costs, inflation, and wages all went up within the City, also. The City of Orono has roads within their budget so people do not receive a bill when the City comes out to redo or fix the roads. All water and sewer is also built in so when things break it is in the budget and people do not get billed. Mayor Walsh shared about a recent newspaper article about Long Lake and that in one of the highest revenue years, with a drought and many people using more water, they are bleeding red ink; however in a wet year when they do not get any revenue, they will be under water. Mayor Walsh stated they also charge people every time they want to redo a road and gave an example of a water tower failure in Tonka Beach and they did not have money to fix the water issue. He spoke about roads in Minnetrista and Mound who do not have money for infrastructure and must bond for roads; Mound also has water issues and boiling water notices. Mayor Walsh clarified Orono does not have any of these issues because it is all budgeted. Johnson clarified the only way for Mr. Potas’ taxes to increase when he has not done any updates to his house, is that the Hennepin County Assessor increased the home’s value. The mill-rate that the City of Orono is charging residents is virtually unchanged and even went down a bit. Johnson noted Mr. Potas’ assessed value from Hennepin County must have gone up about 25%. Seals noted she had the same issue when the value of her parents’ home on the lake has also gone up astronomically while in Minneapolis it was 8%. Printup noted Hennepin County heard loud-and-clear from Orono regarding this issue. Crosby noted one can always challenge their assessed value with the County. He noted real estate values shot up due to a limited inventory as a result of government shutdowns and intervention. Crosby asked the assessor if next year when real estate values are down by 20%, will they drop rates by 20%? He noted they should because these rates are ridiculous and overblown. Mr. Potas has been retired for 8 years and his income is nowhere near where it was. However, his property taxes are 25% of his income. He noted either at the City, County, or State level there should be a “super senior” category for increases in property taxes. His income is going nowhere and his property taxes are going up.