Street Lighting and Street Maintenance Assessment on Nongovernmental Tax Exempt Parcels
These are permanent annual assessments, meaning they will be assessed every year.
The assessments are authorized by State Law.
The assessments were first levied on payable 1974 taxes. Rates were updated in 1978. Rates and methodology were updated in 2009.
There is a separate assessment for street lighting and street maintenance.
Assessed properties include:
- Charitable Institutions
- Private Schools and Colleges
- Churches
- Other nongovernmental, property tax exempt parcels
Assessments pay for a portion of the following activities.
- Street Lighting
- Annual budget of $5.5 million. Approximately $3 million of this total pays for the operations of the street light system, namely electricity costs and light bulb replacement.
- Street Maintenance
- Annual budget of $14,959,775 for street maintenance. This work includes pothole repair, seal coating, and snow plowing on the city’s 1,500 miles of streets and alleys.
Assessment totals for individual properties are based on the assessment rate and the assessable area for each property.
The assessment rate is determined by dividing the street maintenance and street lighting budget by the citywide assessable square footage. The same rate is applied to all eligible properties.
Assessable area for each property is determined via the uniform influence area assessment policy (property area calculation). All property areas are calculated in the same manner.
The updating of rates and methodology in 2009 included mailed notice to property owners, two community meetings, and a public hearing at the City Council.
Minneapolis City Council adopted updated rates and methodology on November 13, 2009. Street Maintenance assessment was adopted at 1/3 the proposed rate with direction to phase in the assessment to the full proposed rate for payable 2011 taxes. Any increase in the assessment will require notification of property owners and a public hearing process.
Last updated Sep. 27, 2011