Sample Letter Template
Date
Senator / Representative______
Address Line
Address Line
Address Line
Dear Senator / Representative ______,
I am writing on behalf of ______Township in ______County, to express concerns about the impact of the recent/proposed acquisition of land in our township/county. While the public benefit of the acquisition may be valid, our town board is concerned about the impact the acquisition will have on our tax base when the property removed from the property tax rolls. The size of the acquisition translates into a significant amount of lost tax base to our township/county (provide $ amount if known). The loss of this tax base must then be taken up by shifting the tax burden onto the remaining taxable properties. At the township level this generally means that homeowners are being forced to pay higher taxes in order to maintain the roads and provide the emergency services that benefit the now non-taxable property. When one considers that the use of the non-taxable property as a (insert proposed use here - regional park, public hunting land, etc.)will likely increase the use of the property and thus increase the wear-and-tear on the town roads around it and increase the need for emergency services to respond to calls involving the now non-taxable property, it is easy to understand the frustration of the local property owners who are forced to pay more in property taxes when the primary benefit is the broader general public and not the local residents.
Townships across the State are grateful for the establishment of a Township Aid program and the increased funding and modified distribution formula made to the PILT program during the 2013 legislative session but much work remains to hold townships and their property tax payers harmless when property is acquired for purposes that removes it from the tax rolls. This will be an increasing issue of concern as hundreds of millions of dollars are made available through the use of Legacy funds and other State appropriations. For example, in January 2014 the DNR recently announced the acquisition of approximately 900 acres of township land in Rice County using these funds.
______Township, therefore, respectfully requests that you work with the Minnesota Association of Townships to enact legislation that requires a thorough evaluation of the full financial impact on all affected units of government and their residents before land is acquired for a use that will render the property non-taxable or significantly reduce the tax value of the property when the acquisition is to be made using State funding sources. Further, we encourage that the improvements made to the PILT program in 2013 be continued so that all affected local units of government are made whole for the lost tax base. Establishing an alternative program where the tax obligation is fully funded at the time of acquisition would be one approach for further improving the intent of the PILT program.
Again, the town board is not challenging the public purpose behind the acquisition but believes that a proper cost-benefit analysis can only be done after all impacts to all affected local units of government are made part of the equation and the PILT program or a PILT alternative
Sincerely,
______
(Name)(Name)
Chairperson, ______TownshipClerk, ______Township