Turtle Lake to see uptick in taxes
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Turtle Lake residents’ taxes are going to be going up a little bit this coming year as members of the Turtle Lake City Commission approved an increase of 5.95 mills, which equates to $26.78 on a house valued at about $100,000, about $13.39 on a $50,000 home, and $53.56 on a $200,000 home.
“It’s better to have a small increase than wait and lay low for another five years and we’ve got to raise it big-time,” said City Auditor Darwin Saari.
“We’re projecting a little increase this year mainly to levy enough so we can cover our police contract and street lights,” he added.
At 51.42 mills, Turtle Lake is still levying less than most surrounding communities, noted commissioners. Underwood currently levies 75.13, while Mercer is levying 105 mills.
The city’s budget is due to the county this week, noted Saari, adding that the budget that the commission approved Monday night is just an estimate – that doesn’t mean the city will we have spend it everything it budgets for.
“Financially we’re pretty sound,” said Saari. The slight uptick in taxes will help the city stay sound as it looks toward a potential upcoming housing project and other infrastructure improvements.
