Litchfield Public Schools’ levy will increase 3.96% — or $240,600.25 — next year.
The 2024 levy of $6,322,868.47 received certification from the Litchfield School Board during its meeting Dec. 11.
The board’s approval came following the annual Truth in Taxation hearing, during which district Business Manager Jesse Johnson offered a detailed breakdown of the various funds operated by the district and its funding sources.
The Truth in Taxation hearing is required by law, originally passed in 1988 and amended in 2009. Johnson explained that during the public hearing, the district is required to present information about the current budget and its revenue and expenses from the prior year, as well as information on the proposed tax levy and percentage change from the previous year. The public then must be allowed to make comments.
Two people attended the hearing, but left the meeting without comment following Johnson’s presentation.
Johnson said that school funding “is highly regulated by the state,” which sets formulas that determine revenue districts will receive. Most school district revenue is determined by enrollment, and most revenue — 78% in the case of Litchfield’s 2023-2024 budget — comes from the state.
As with other local governmental units, like the city and county, school districts set their own tax levies, with levy limits calculated and regulated by the Minnesota Department of Education.
While the public hearing and levy certification took place in December, property owners will pay taxes in May and October next year, with funding recorded in the 2024-2025 school year.
Johnson attempted to explain what determines individual property tax bills, saying three general factors play a role:
- Change in individual property value;
- Change in total value of all property within the school district; and
- Increases or decreases in levy amounts caused by changes in state funding formulas, local needs and costs, voter-approved referendums and other factors.
While property owners all pay their “slice of the pie,” Johnson explained, the size of the slice is determined by market value increase.
He illustrated this with a slide showing two properties, each valued at $100,000. If the total levy were $500, each property owner would pay $250 of the levy.
However, in the same illustration, if the value of one of the houses increases by 10%, and the value of the other increases by 25%, the house with smaller increase would pay less ($234) of the total $500 levy than the one with greater value increase ($266).
Using a $150,000 residential property in the Litchfield School District as an example, taxes during that four-year period have actually declined $106 (from $629 in 2021 to $523 estimated in 2024) — if the property saw no change in value during that period.
Of course, that’s rarely the case. Property values in the Litchfield School District have risen 34.3% during the past four years, Johnson reported.
So, a home valued at $111,654 in 2021 would have increased to $150,000 in estimated value by 2024, and its taxes would have risen from $445 in 2021 to $523 in 2024.
In other action:
- The board reviewed plans for an improvement project for the south parking lot at the high school/middle school. Johnson told board members the project could include parking lot upgrade, as well as adding a new access to the south lot from Gilman Avenue. It also could include moving the school tennis courts further south to accommodate the increased parking lot and entrance area.
- The board accepted donations from the Women’s Study Club ($400 for Lake Ripley Elementary), AgCountry Farm Credit ($600 for Lake Ripley), and Litchfield Eagles Club ($1,000 for the high school robotics program).
