Funds to pay health insurance, debts on roads 

Freeborn County commissioners are considering an almost 4 percent levy increase for 2015.

The commissioners were slated to vote this morning on the preliminary budget and levy.

County Administrator John Kluever said the 3.9 percent increase would equate to $811,000. That would bring the total levy to $20.27 million.

Kluever said for a $100,000 residential homestead, the increase would be $4. For a $200,000 commercial business, the increase would be $17, and for an average acre of tillable agriculture land, the increase would be $1.97 per acre.

This is an 11 percent increase in the tax on ag land versus an only 1 percent increase for residential homestead and commercial businesses.

Of the levy increase, $430,000 would go to pay off the bonds the county took out to pay for road construction and a storage facility at the county shop. The remaining $381,000 of the increase would go toward meeting changes in health insurance regulations.

Kluever said the issue came before the commissioners after multiple workshops and presentations.

Kluever said the overall budget being considered is $43.6 million.

It will include an estimated $290,000 collected from the new wheelage tax. The tax goes toward maintenance and repair of roads.

People are invited to speak about the proposals at the meeting.

Commissioners can lower the levy before the end of the year but cannot raise it.