Commisioners Vote to hold Prop Taxes at Net Zero
County Commission holds
Property Tax Increase to Net Zero for Coming Year
McKenzie County, ND—
The McKenzie County Commission voted
unanimously to hold property tax increases to net zero in the upcoming fiscal
year. County Departments are being asked
to cut 1% from their proposed budgets to stay in line with the Commission’s
goal.
A Public
Hearing on the budget is set for Sept. 19th at 7:00 pm in the County
Commission Board Room in the McKenzie County Courthouse. The public is
encouraged to attend.
“This board
determined that we want to hold county property tax to a net zero increase. So
between now and budget hearing, departments are really going to have to work on
finding efficiencies, and work through a list of priorities in an effort to
find 1%.” said Vice Chairman Vawnita Best.
Since the
departments are being asked to cut 1 % from their budget requests, Chairman
Doug Nordby explained the process leading up to the hearing: “We are planning
on having all departments come in before the Commission on September 19th.
Those departments then have the ability to make changes to their proposed
budgets and explain enhanced line items or special project or need requests.”
McKenzie
County has one of the lowest mill levies in the State. A mill levy is based on
total valuation of real property within the county; land, buildings and other
above or below ground properties that are privately owned. The taxable valuation of real property in
McKenzie County in 2016 was $178,629,896. This year the value is estimated at $242,000,000.
A large portion of this increase in value is from ‘non-wellhead’ gas and oil
industry facilities, commonly referred to as ‘centrally assessed property’,
which makes up approximately 52% of McKenzie County’s property value.
Residents
who did not see an increase in valuation, will see a property tax decrease in
the County portion of their taxes, recognizing that there will not be the 12%
buy down in property taxes from the state of North Dakota this year. Auditor Erica Johnsrud explained, “McKenzie
County recently performed a countywide property valuation to equalize property
values, ensuring fair and equitable assessment. Where property value was not
adjusted during the countywide valuation, the county portion of those taxes will
actually go down this year.”
McKenzie
County’s Preliminary Budget for 2018 is $103,023,745. Roughly 30% of the county budget will be
funded from Gross Production Tax (GPT).
GPT is revenue in lieu of property tax for the impact of approximately
4,800 oil well heads in McKenzie County.
GPT is redistributed to impacted local political subdivisions for oil
and gas impacts by the North Dakota legislature. $5.1 million in Property Taxes will be levied
in 2018 to provide funding for a portion of County operating expenses. Those levies are:
• Agriculture
property is 6% of the $5.1 million.
• Residential
property is 10.2 % $5.1 million.
• Commercial
property is 32% of 5.1 million.
• Oil and Gas
(centrally assessed) property is 52% of $5.1 million.
The McKenzie
County Preliminary Budget Hearing is set for Tuesday, Sept. 19th at
7:00 pm, in the County Commission Board Room, 201 5th St. NW,
Watford City, ND.
Link:
https://county.mckenziecounty.net/usrfiles/news/Net_Zero_Property_Tax_Increase_Planned.pdf