The Ramsey County Board held a workshop to discuss the projected impact of 2027 property taxes. No votes were taken. County Auditor Tracy West presented an overview of the property tax process, levy changes, tax base shifts, and comparisons to other metro counties. Commissioners asked clarifying questions and discussed policy implications for development, tax burden distribution, and regional cooperation.
All right, welcome. Welcome to the Ramsey County Board Workshop. We are upstairs in the county council boardroom. We're usually downstairs, but welcome. Today's workshop topic is projected impact of the 2027 taxes payable. Courtesy reminder that this board workshop is live streamed and recorded. There will be no vote taken during the workshop. So why don't we start with introduction of commissioners and presenters just around the table here? And then just around the table. So I was uh Ramsey County Commissioner Rena Moran, District 4. Linger County Manager. Mike Chong Zhang, Commissioner for District 6. Mary Joe McGuire, Commissioner for District 2. Tara Jevinson, Commissioner for District 1. Harris McMurtry, Commissioner District 3. Kelly Miller, Commissioner of District 7. Ralph Taylor, Commissioner District 5. Alex Kitson, Chief Operating Officer. You get a chance to introduce yourself in a moment. So today we'll be walking through Ramsey County 2027 projected property tax impact. We're looking at the property tax process, changes in the levy and tax base, and the factors of packing, the typical resident tax bill. So timely, thank you. Finally, we'll share important dates in the tax process and relief programs available for those who qualify. With that overview, I would now turn it over to our county auditor, Tracy West, who will guide us through the details. Thank you, Chair Commissioners. My name is Tracy West. I'm the director of property tax records election services, and I'm also the county auditor. So today I'm here to present the 2027 taxes payable, the impact on taxpayers. So the workshop goals. So I hope we'll be able to answer the following questions. So what is the property tax process and components? How is levy changing? What is happening to the tax base? What does it mean for a typical resident? What is driving the change in tax? How does Ramsey County compare? And what are the key takeaways? So let's look at the overall process. So at the beginning of each year, the county assessor determines the market value of property. So the market value is what your property is estimated to be worth if it were sold today in a typical real estate transaction. So that market value is adjusted based on the type of property to get to the tax capacity. So the counties, cities, schools, and other taxing jurisdiction establish the amount of money they need to fund services through the budget process. So a tax base is the total taxable value of all properties that are within a district. So districts with a growing tax base may have a lower tax rate, and this is because the levy is being spread over a greater value. Your tax bill is calculated by multiplying your property's taxable value by the total tax rate for year location, and that's how we get to the individual taxes owed. So how is levy changing? So levy has been at a steady incline over the last two budget cycles. So as county manager Becker just presented, the proposed levy for 2027 is about $464 million, which is an increase of 8.25% over 2026. So what is happening to the tax base? So this is a historical look at the assessed value of Ramsey County.