Truth in Taxation was the agenda item that dominated much of the Silver Bay City Council meeting on Monday night. This past September the City Council approved a proposed levy of $1,852,675 for 2025. According to the 2025 Proposed Budget and Levy Summary, which is available on the city’s website, Lake County increased the city’s initial proposed levy by $7,313 to cover the city’s portion of the tax abatement for the Housing Incentive Program. This increased the actual proposed levy to $1,859,988 and is reflected in the 11.1% notices that Silver Bay residents received in the mail.
The operational costs for city departments remained relatively the same from 2024 to 2025. However, the Taconite Production Tax Revenues saw a decrease of $68K. This decrease has a direct impact on the levy due to the fact that less revenue will be received by the city. City documents point out that if the Taconite Production Tax would have remained flat, there would not be an increase in the city’s General Fund.
While Truth In Taxation is not necessarily a final budget indicator, Silver Bay property owners can expect a property tax increase in the neighborhood of $10.30, for a property valued at $150,000, $48.51 for a property valued at $200,000, $124.77 for a property valued at $300,000 and $200.96 for a property valued at $400,000. City leaders do not determine assessed values for city property owners and they do not decide who pays what with regard to property taxes. City Administrator, Lana Fralich, encouraged residents to contact the County Assessor if they have specific questions about their assessment.
Several residents were in attendance at Monday night’s meeting who were seeing their yearly city tax totals in the neighborhood of $5,000. There was discussion about cutting the city budget as a means of relieving residents of some of their property tax burden, but the question that raises is, what city services do residents want to see reduced? Council member Shane Hoff pointed out that property taxes have been low in Silver Bay for years as city infrastructure has been allowed to degrade. When the current council took office, one of the priorities among city residents was to improve the city’s streets. “A lot of people have benefitted” from the low taxes “over the years and now, it’s time to pay the piper” Hoff stated. “We need to decide, as a community, what direction we want to go. As a Council, we’ve decided that we need to put a lot of money into the streets. That’s one of our top priorities and we’ve heard that from a lot of people in town as well”.
The pain that residents are feeling about property tax increases is real and members of the Council are in the same boat as other Silver Bay homeowners. Folks who want more information on the proposed city budget and levy can visit the city website to get a more detailed look at department expenses, projects and equipment purchases.
City leaders will be meeting with State elected officials in Saint Paul from February 11th to 13th. The meetings allow local leaders the opportunity to learn about the Legislative agenda for the coming term and to talk with State officials about ongoing and upcoming city improvement projects. Ben Bautch and Lanna Fralich plan to represent Silver Bay at these meetings.
The next Silver Bay Council meeting will be held on December 16th at 7:00 PM.
