Lonsdale to see wide range of tax impact

It’s looking more and more like the city tax rate for Lonsdale will remain the same as it was in 2018 and the tax levy will be $2.1 million, according to the latest 2019 budget meeting.

Monday night the Lonsdale City Council met for the fourth time to discuss the 2019 annual budget.

At the previous budget meeting, Lonsdale City Administrator Joel Erickson was asked to prepare city tax rate scenarios for homes and businesses based on the same tax rate as in 2018, which would as a result increase the city’s overall revenue by nearly $250,000.

“This is the financial need of the city that the council has determined,” Erickson said.

Though the tax rate stays the same, he said this is creating a greater range in payable taxes by home owners.

“There’s a wide range of tax impact,” Erickson said.

The impact will most greatly be seen for the lowervalued homes in comparison to those valued at the top.

“These properties’ values are increasing in value at a much higher rate than more expensive valued homes,” he said. “In addition to increased value, the lesser valued homes will see their Market Value Homestead Exclusion (MVHE) reduced at a larger percentage than more expensive homes that already receive less MVHE.”

In the last three years, a home with an estimated value of $178,000 has seen a decrease in the city portion of taxes payable anywhere from $5 to $43. In 2019, however, the taxes payable will be increased to roughly $160.

On the other end of the spectrum, a home with an estimated market value of $389,000 would have a $38 tax increase.

For businesses, Erickson said that he expects there to be a decrease in the city taxes payable again this year. He said this has been fairly consistent over the last couple of years for the majority of businesses.

Erickson predicts the overall estimated market value in Lonsdale will go up again in 2020 based on current trends and how expensive homes are selling at this time.

“I would expect a substantial increase in market value in 2020 again,” he said.

Police Wages As part of the department to department look at the 2019 budget, police department wages are being given a..............

To see more on this story pick up the July 26, 2018 print edition of The New Prague Times.