Rising home values behind big property tax increases for some in Washington County

Some Washington County homeowners will see double-digit jumps in their property taxes this year, including a few communities facing some of the largest increases in the metro area.

Among them: Afton, West Lakeland and Baytown Township, a small community where property taxes could jump by 22% this year. In all three communities, the tax increases are driven by local levies, rising home valuations, and newly approved school bond referenda.

In Baytown Township, west of Bayport, taxes on a median-valued home are expected to rise from $5,526 last year to $6,742 in 2024.

A big driver in those changes? Home valuations there climbed nearly 19% last year, rising to $818,300 for a median-value home. By comparison, median home values were up by about 8% overall across Washington County.

The taxes will help Baytown Township pay for services, said Township Supervisor Rick Weyrauch. The township voted to make their clerk position full time after years of getting by with part-time work, and paid off overdue snow removal bills. It's also an election year, and the township runs its own polling center.

Joanne Helm, Washington County's deputy director of property records and taxpayer services, said the areas that will see the largest tax increases are spots where property values increased greater than the countywide median of 8.1%, and in school districts that saw voters approve referenda, like Stillwater and South Washington County.

Helm noted that a higher percentage increase in tax does not necessarily equate to higher taxes. Factors like which school district a home is located in can have a significant impact.

For example, a $470,000 Woodbury home in the South Washington County school district will see taxes rise about 6.3% tax to $5,367, while a similarly priced Woodbury home that sits in the Stillwater district will see a 9.1% jump to $4,201.

"The taxes are significantly lower on the parcel with the higher-percentage increase," Helm noted.

In Lake Elmo, it's a tale of two school districts: Homes inside the Stillwater district will see property taxes climb by 7.2%, or about $360 for a median-value home of $588,100. The school district passed a $175 million referendum to replace Lake Elmo and Andersen elementary schools, remodel and expand Oak-Land Middle School, and make security upgrades across the district.

Lake Elmo homes in the Mahtomedi district, meanwhile, should see taxes fall by 6.2%, or about $308, according to the county. The district didn't have a bond referendum in November, and the county said home valuations in that area fell by 2.7%.

Elsewhere, some Washington County homeowners will see their tax bill drop.

Property taxes could fall 7.3%, or about $227, in tiny Willernie, population 522, since it had no school referendum pass and home valuations fell slightly, according to the county.

Willernie Mayor Barb Parent said she's not surprised.

"We're landlocked; we don't have any room to expand," she said. "I think we manage our city well on what we levy, and we don't have a lot of room for expansion."

An owner of a median-valued home in Birchwood Village, Mahtomedi or Scandia will likely also see property taxes fall.

Using the chart shown here, a homeowner can find the estimated tax change they'll see on 2024 property taxes. The data was prepared by Washington County and came with some caveats: The tax statements will be mailed out in March, but the county is still calculating the changes in a few taxing districts that reduced their final levy from proposed amounts. So it's possible taxes will be lower in some areas than what's shown on this chart.

Taxes on an individual house can also fluctuate depending on changes in homestead status or recent improvements like adding a garage or new kitchen or bath. Finally, the proposed tax notices sent out to taxpayers didn't include the estimated impact of any referenda passed by voters on Nov. 7; these numbers include that figure.