(KNSI) – A St. Cloud lawmaker is pushing for long-term solutions to Minnesota’s rising property taxes.
Senator Aric Putnam has advanced a bill that would create a Property Tax Task Force to take a hard look at a system he says has not had a serious review in more than 25 years. Putnam says everyone knows property taxes are going up, and the burden hits hardest on seniors and people living on fixed incomes. He says while the legislature has made real investments in relief over the past few years, Minnesotans are still paying more.
Since 2023, the state has put more than $500 million toward property tax relief, including expanded refund programs and more aid to cities and counties. But Putnam says that investment is no match for the billions of dollars in federal cost shifts and budget cuts expected to hit local governments over the next decade. Many cities, counties, and school districts are already planning to cut services or lean more heavily on property taxes just to keep the lights on.
The task force would be bipartisan, bringing together lawmakers from both parties along with the state revenue commissioner and representatives from counties, cities, townships, and local assessors. Their job would be to figure out whether the current distribution of the tax burden across homeowners, businesses, and other property types still makes sense, and then actually draft legislation the next legislature could pass.