Truth-in-taxation statements, which went out to Anoka County homeowners last week, show that property tax bills will go down in much of the county in 2010, but homeowners should hold off celebrating until they consider the impact of school levies that passed on Nov. 3.

Voters in the Anoka-Hennepin, St. Francis, Centennial and Spring Lake Park school districts all agreed to levies that, because of their timing, are not reflected in the property tax estimates. On the flip side, people in school districts where levies are set to expire this year will not see that impact in their statements, either.

The final numbers will be reflected when tax bills are mailed in March.

Average taxable market values were down across the board in Anoka County, reflecting the nationwide housing correction. The median taxable market value dropped 7.15 percent, from $205,500 to $190,800. Taxes on that average house went down less than 1 percent.

For 2010, the county is seeking a $122 million tax levy to help meet a $257.9 million budget. The levy is up $12 million from 2009, while the budget is down $5 million.

The reason the levy has increased at the same time that budget is decreasing is that revenues have gone down faster than expenses, said Finance Division Manager Cevin Petersen. Among other factors, the county has lost much of the state aid it once received for human services.

School levy impact

On paper the owner of an average-value home in Coon Rapids may appear to be getting a 4.3 percent tax cut because the city is in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, which has a $6 million annual levy expiring this year. However, voters agreed this month to renew that levy and add another $2-million-a-year inflationary increase.

Individual cities show a range in decreases of taxable market values, from a 1.4 percent dip in Linwood Township to a 9.9 percent drop in Spring Lake Park. The changes are comparable to, or a little less dramatic, than last year, said Mike Sutherland, Anoka County assessor. He added that Anoka is pretty typical for a rural/metro county that didn't see the sky-high property prices or precipitous crashes experienced by some more-urban areas of the metro.

Still, noted Maureen Devine, the county's division manager for property records and taxation, homeowners should know that while property values and property taxes both appear to be on the decrease in much of the county, they don't necessarily move in lockstep.

The budgets set by the county and other taxing authorities -- cities, school districts, watershed districts and others -- set the total levy, which is the taxpayers' share of the pool needed to meet expenses for the year. It's the property values that set each taxpayer's share.

"For individual property owners, how their property compares to their neighbors' property, that would indicate whether or not there's a shift in their share of that tax," she said. "If the budget amount didn't change and property values went down, you might not see a reduction."

Property values were set Jan. 2, 2009, based on sales from the previous 18 months. When calculating taxable market values, the county tries to be within 6 percent of actual sales values for comparable homes in comparable neighborhoods.

Most of the formula is about hard math, not subjective value judgments, Sutherland noted. He added, however, that his office does have some flexibility to take major trends into account, such as last year's townhouse bust.

"We don't like to see big swings, either," he said. "We want to be ahead of the game. I'd rather make two 7 percent reductions than one 14 percent reduction."

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409