By Pat Anderson, State auditor

Minnesotans are getting an idea of how much they will pay in property taxes next year as they receive their Truth in Taxation statements. Some taxpayers may feel sticker shock at an increased tax bill; others may be pleased that their local government is holding the line on increasing taxes.

It is important to keep in mind, however, that the amounts listed on Truth-in-Taxation statements are not final. They serve as ceilings: property taxes can be reduced from this level, but they cannot be increased above it. Property tax levies will not be finalized until local governments hold a Truth-in-Taxation hearing in December.

These hearings give citizens an opportunity to voice their feelings on the proposed levy.

At the same time, they give elected officials a chance to explain their decisions or make changes.

While Truth-in-Taxation hearings provide an excellent means for citizens to hold their elected officials accountable, for true accountability to take place, two things need to happen.

First, citizens need to attend those meetings and ask questions. When there is a lack of citizen input, elected officials will assume that taxpayers are completely satisfied with their actions.

I encourage you to go and ask questions. The truth-in-taxation process was put in place to give citizens a chance to let their elected officials know how they feel.

I urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to let your voice be heard.

Second, for true accountability to occur, citizens need understandable, meaningful financial information. Part of the State Auditor’s job is to inform the public of how local governments are spending their tax dollars. Because I believe that it is important for the public to hold government accountable, I have attempted to make local government finances more transparent and easy to understand. Financial information for every city, county and school district in the state is available online at www.auditor.state.mn.us.

I encourage citizens who are concerned about their property tax levy, or just curious about how their local governments are spending money, to access our website.

Our Web site allows users to access information that shows their local government’s spending patterns over the last several years.

Revenues and expenditures are broken down into several categories so citizens can see the ways in which governments have received money and how that money has been spent.

Because the website includes spending information for every city, county and school district, users can also compare the spending of their local governments to similar local governments around the state.

Comparing the finances of similar local governments adds some context to the numbers by allowing taxpayers to see if other local governments are providing services more or less efficiently.

In addition, citizens can find out how much money their local government is holding in reserve.

Cities and counties need to keep some funds in reserve to cash flow expenditures, but some cities and counties hold significantly more money than they need for cash flow purposes without officially designating the funds.

Citizens concerned with high tax levies should compare their local governments’ fund balances to the acceptable standard my office has set.

If the fund balance is significantly higher than the acceptable stan dard, citizens should press their elected officials to explain why so much money is being held in reserve.

The Truth-in-Taxation system empowers everyday citizens to make a difference in their local government’s decision-making. That power will be best put to use if the citizenry is well-informed.

The website of the Office of the State Auditor is an excellent place for citizens to start that process.

I encourage all Minnesotans to attend their Truth-in-Taxation hearings and to do so after accessing www.auditor.state.mn.us.

(Pat Anderson is the Minnesota state auditor.)