Understanding property tax increases

by Mimi Larsen Staff Writer

After property tax bills went out county-wide, many taxpayers were shocked to see their bills were noticeably higher, in some cases two and even three times higher than last year. Calls flooded the Assessor’s office, and people wanted answers, but the answers are complicated.

In the extreme cases, one answer is that their properties likely were assessed at the same value for many years and were only recently raised to match the actual market value of their property type. If their assessments had increased gradually every year, there would likely have been less shock this particular year. For more on this story and many more please purchase a copy of the Sisseton Courier on news stands now or purchase a copy of the E-edtion on this website.