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Increases to road and bridgework, housing investments
At the county budget presentation on Dec. 3, county administrator Matt Huddleston summarized the work of several months of budget scrutiny and the near-final conclusions for the 2025 levy and budget.
Regarding people’s payable homeowner taxes for 2025, Huddleston pointed out that a delay in the real estate assessment cycle can seem to over- or under-value a property when the real estate market is volatile year-toyear, since sales from October 2022 through September 2023 are used to set the 2024 market values for taxes payable in 2025. Huddleston urged homeowners to bring their concerns to the county when they first receive their notices.
Of property tax revenue in the county, 39% comes from residential homesteads. Another 31% comes from season-residential recreational properties. Commercial properties account for just 11.5% of the total, and non-homestead residential (long-term rentals, for instance) comes in at just 11%. The largest source of revenue for the county is federal and state aid, which together account for about half of all revenue.
Huddleston highlighted that key increases in the 2025 budget are due to road and bridge work. Local roads do not receive state aid, and there is never enough aid to pay for all the roads that need fixing.
Even so, in 2025 the county’s planned expenditure of $2.7 million is matched with over $20 million in various types of outside funding, including for projects that the county manages for other entities.
The other notable increase in the budget stems from the county’s investment in the HRA work and director. Without the county’s investment, there is no way to leverage other grants for housing. HRA funds come from a distinct HRA levy.
The tax-forfeit fund, which used to pay for itself through sales, may now operate at a loss because of the supreme court decision disallowing the county from making any profit off of tax-forfeit lands. Many variables are at play, including the cost to the county for dealing with the property. The county will use the new guidelines for a few years to see how and if this fund can pay for itself in the future.
Capital projects for the next year include roofing work on both arenas, work on the courthouse chimney, truck and trailer purchases, and work on the local jail.
The county’s cost of doing business is going up, just like everyone else’s. The increased levy reflects that as well.
One piece of good news is that the county can budget with confidence again, knowing the BWCA PILT-Thye Blatnik payments, which will come in about $300,000 less than pre-2018 levels, are known ahead of time. The county is already working to be pro-active in the process of determining the rate of payment starting in 2028.
The ongoing challenge, according to Huddleston’e report, is in maintaining sound financial integrity (with enough money in reserves) while asking for the minimum necessary levy.
Lake County’s 2025 preliminary tax levy represents a 2.4% increase from 2024. The budget will be voted on by the Board at the Dec. 17 meeting.
