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House Research Department Updated: September 2008 <br />Special Assessments Page 16 <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 2 provides a historical comparison of special assessments as a percentage of the total <br />property tax levy for each of the types of taxing districts that levy special assessments (i.e., <br />counties, cities, townships, and special taxing districts). The historical data dates back to 1970, <br />just before the Minnesota Miracle of 1971 that made major property tax and intergovernmental <br />financing changes to our system. Data from 1970 is compared to data from 2006. <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 2: Special Assessments as Percent of Taxing District Total Levy <br />Taxes Payable 1970 and 200643 <br /> <br />1.6% <br />17.9% <br />5.6% <br />0.0% <br />4.7% <br />2.6% <br />10.9% <br />5.2% <br />2.8% <br />3.8% <br />0.0% <br />10.0% <br />20.0% <br />County City Township Special Taxing <br />District <br />Total <br />1970 2006 <br />Source: Department of Revenue, Property Taxes Levied in Minnesota: Summary Tables for Taxes Payable 2005 <br />The 2006 numbers are from the 2006 Abstract of Tax Lists <br />The county special assessments as a percent of total levy has increased from about 1.6 percent to <br />about 2.6 percent. In terms of dollars, the amount has grown from $3 million to $55 million, <br />which is more than 18 times larger. City special assessments as a percentage of levy, on the <br />other hand, have gone in the opposite direction. They have decreased from 17.9 percent of levy <br />in 1970 to 10.9 percent in 2006. The higher percentage in 1970 may be related to the rapid <br />housing growth in the suburbs from baby boomers. One would expect a higher expenditure in <br />infrastructure (i.e., streets, curbs, gutters, sewers) with that housing growth. In terms of dollars, <br />the total amount of city special assessments is now five times larger than in 1970. However, <br />these changes appear to be as much a function of the total city levy increasing at a more rapid <br />rate than special assessments, than it is of the actual dollar change in total special assessments. <br /> <br />The table containing the supporting data for Figure 2 is in the Appendix. It contains all of the <br />special assessment and property tax levy data from 1970 through 2006. In the earlier years, the <br />data is for each five-year time period, whereas, beginning in 1995 it is for each year. The data <br /> <br />43 The fiscal disparity distribution levy that the taxing districts receive has been incorporated into the levy <br />amounts.