Hennepin County Administrator Proposes 3.5% Levy Increase in 2022 Budget
Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 7:12PMVia a September 14 Press Release from Hennepin County:
On Tuesday, Hennepin County Administrator David Hough proposed a 2022 budget of $2.4 billion to the Hennepin County Board. The proposed net property tax levy is $899.6 million – an increase of 3.5% after holding the budget flat for 2021.
The operating portion of this budget totals $2.1 billion, an increase of $6.5 million dollars from the adjusted 2021 budget. The capital portion totals $333 million, which is $142 million more than the 2021 approved capital budget of $191 million.
Property tax covers approximately 36% of the overall county budget. Federal and state sources, fees and services, and other revenues fund the remainder of the budget.
“We must be responsible with property tax increases for 2022 given the challenges faced by our residents and businesses,” said Hennepin County Administrator David Hough. “While the county’s residential real estate market remains strong, the commercial and industrial market continues to be challenged by the impacts of COVID-19.”
Hough’s proposed budget focuses on pandemic response, pandemic recovery, disparity reduction, climate action and the organization’s future. It includes strategies like minimizing requests for new positions, introducing additional strategies and activities to reduce disparities and supporting the county’s Climate Action Plan.
“Community need has never been clearer than during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Hough. “Intentionally using federal pandemic funds to support the work in disparity reduction domains is critical to ensure that we are not allowing COVID to continue to widen the gap between white residents and residents of color.”
This budget leverages unprecedented funding from the federal government by way of CARES and the American Rescue Plan and balances a number of additional challenges, including:
- Uncertainty about federal and state government funding levels
- Flat to declining property tax revenues
- Declines in other expected revenues
- Transformational change in how Hennepin County does business
- A rapidly changing environment that may require different services and service levels
“Responding to crises is what we do,” said Hough. “The county’s pandemic response has been a catalyst for change and innovation. Since the onset of the pandemic, our focus has been on maintaining critical services and supporting those most in need. Our innovations were possible because of county board support over the years and our commitment to growing and supporting operational infrastructure.”
Capital budget
One of the key factors in the budget increase is the proposed 2022 capital budget. The capital budget is where the county’s long-term assets are financed – including roads, bridges, transit and other key infrastructure. Some key items in the capital budget include:
- $72 million in investment toward road, bridge, light rail and trail infrastructure
- $52 million for environment and energy infrastructure, including an anaerobic digester
- $42 million in investment for law, safety and justice facilities and infrastructure
- $95 million toward facilities supporting the Health and Human Services lines of business including a parking ramp expansion for Hennepin Healthcare (Hennepin County Medical Center)
- $72 million toward other county operations
Budget hearing schedule
The Hennepin County Board will set its maximum tax levy at its September 21 meeting, which will be followed by a series of budget hearings before a final budget is adopted in December. View the schedule of public meetings at hennepin.us/boardmeetings.
Property values
Property tax valuations impact the property tax portion of the budget. The Hennepin County Assessor's Office assesses your property and estimates the value it would likely sell for on the open market, which is one factor used in determining your property tax. Other factors include property tax levies set by the school districts, city, county or special taxing districts that the property is in.
