Olmsted County's HRA tax is not new, but a computer glitch made it look that way

Answer Man, 

I see a new fee on my property tax statement on line 10, special taxing HRA for $65. 

Line 10 was zero last year. Was this something we voted on that I missed? Why was this added this year, and how and why was this added this year? Who makes the decision for these increased fees?

It’s getting harder and harder to keep up with all the fees on a retirement income and still support myself. Can you tell where this came from and who can authorize these new fees. 

Do all counties have those fees on their property taxes?

— Tired taxpayer

Taxpayer,

I can assure you that you paid that tax last year if you were an Olmsted County homeowner living outside Stewartville.

The Housing and Redevelopment Authority tax levy was created in 2015 by Olmsted County commissioners and has maintained the maximum allowed 0.0185% rate in recent years. It is expected to generate nearly $5 million this year

Your confusion likely stems from a glitch in the county’s tax statements when they were initially posted online.

Prior to March 19, the online 2024 tax statements failed to show a specific past HRA tax amount, but the tax was still factored into the overall tax collected from the year before. It was also listed on the 2023 tax statements.

I asked my Government Center minion about this, and he discovered the issue has been corrected, with the final statements expected to show the past tax amount when they are mailed by the end of the month.

While the corrected versions are on the county’s website today, the experience makes me wonder why people turn to computers for answers when a resource such as myself exists. I guess such questions will never be answered.

Regarding the HRA levy, it’s not a tax that requires a public vote. The only requirement was the formation of an HRA board to oversee the public funds.

In 2015, county commissioners opted to create the authority to generate funds to assist with the creation of new affordable housing and provide some services for people struggling with housing uncertainty.

The board, by federal mandate, must include at least one appointed member of the community who relies on federal housing services. In Olmsted County, the remaining seven members are the elected county commissioners.

The HRA board and related tax covers the entire county, with the exception of Stewartville, which has had its own housing and redevelopment authority since 1978. Even though the Stewartville authority does not levy a tax on residents, the county would need permission to levy there because of overlapping authorities.

The authority has not been given, and the county’s HRA tax-funded programs generally provide services outside Stewartville.

Since it was created, the levy has supported a variety of housing efforts, including the creation of transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness and the planned development of a new 36-unit senior housing project along Mayowood Road. It’s also helped offset costs of the county’s housing program, which would otherwise be part of the general property tax collection.

This year, plans for the levy funds to cover $1.87 million in administration costs with another $517,500 being used for the county’s housing rehabilitation program to help people make needed repairs to their homes and $1.05 million to address housing instability and homelessness prevention. Another $1.4 million is dedicated to development and housing preservation programs.

It’s understandable that the annual tax statement can highlight people’s economic struggles, but the HRA funds are seeking to address struggles faced by people who might not have a home to tax or might be at risk of losing theirs.

With that in mind, it’s hard to voice too much concern regarding an annual tax that amounts to less than what a person could pay for a single night’s hotel stay.

Send questions to Answer Man at answerman@postbulletin.com .