What is the “Levy?”
The Property Tax Levy is the portion of the budget that is paid for by property taxes. Property Taxes are the biggest source of funding the budget but there are also other sources. Other sources of income include, grants, state aid, charges for services, wheelage and sales taxes, and licenses and permits.
The 2020 combined Revenue budget is $263,400,563.
How is the levy distributed among the property owners?
The total levy amount is divided among all property owners based on the valuation of their property and their property classification.
What is the 2020 Property Tax Levy?
The preliminary levy was $107,862,441; a 4.5% increase. I supported a cut in the preliminary budget of $309,653.
The levy that was approved by the Board on December 17 was $107,552,788; a 4.2 increase.
This is an increase of $4,335,141 over 2019. This amount covers the inflationary costs of salaries, all the materials and equipment that the county needs to provides county services, Building maintenance, and this will also allow for the reconstruction and paving County 101. County 101 connects County 1 and Shoppes on Main. County 101 is the most traveled gravel road in the county; the rebuilding will reduce maintenance costs and improve the safety of the road.
Housing and Redevelopment Authority Levy (Affordable Housing)
The HRA also has a levy. The revenue raised from this levy is used for Affordable Housing. The HRA Levy is .0185 of the estimated market value of all the property in the county. The 2020 HRA Levy is an increase of $1,038,633 and will provide $3,538,633 for Affordable Housing projects. (The 2018 HRA Levy was $2,500,000.(
County Levy and HRA Levy
The combined County and HRA Levies = a 5.08% increase.
What does this mean for the impact on home property taxes?
Based on an Estimated Taxable Market Value of Home in the $200,000 – $225,000 range, the median increase would be:
- County Tax Levy = $32
- HRA Tax Levy = $10
- Total median increase = $42
How does Olmsted County Compare to other Counties?
Based on Preliminary County Tax Levy per person, Olmsted County ranked 52 out of 87 counties. (The actual levy was .3% lower than the preliminary tax information that may change the ranking.)
Other information:
Cities within Olmsted County continue to experience a strong residential market. The Median Sale Prices (comparing 2019 to 2018) continue to rise on average.
| City | Median Sale price | Percent Increase |
| Stewartville | $210,000 | 6.40% |
| Rochester | $245,000 | 4.30% |
| Byron | $240,000 | -7.70% |
| Oronoco | $462,000 | 8.50% |