Questions will occur as one reads through the budget documents. Below are some commonly asked questions. We will add to this list as we receive more questions.
Q: What is ALASD?
A: ALASD is the Alexandria Lake Area Sanitary District. ALASD is a statutorily created sanitary sewer board created in 1971 that owns and operates the wastewater treatment plant and associated systems in the Alexandria Lakes Area. The City of Alexandria has four representatives on the ALASD Board of Directors. The City annually contributes financially toward the retirement of debt that has been issued by ALASD. This financial allocation was authorized in the original enabling legislation for ALASD. In 2023, the City has budgeted $624,572 for its share of the debt service allocation.
Q: The Downtown and Plaza Liquor stores are considered enterprise funds of the City. What does this mean?
A: An enterprise fund is a fund that operates like a for-profit business. The operating costs of the two liquor stores must be paid by the revenues generated in the stores. The City’s General Fund may not be used to supplement the operating costs of an Enterprise Fund. In 2023, the Liquor Stores are budgeted to cover their expenses of operation and then transfer $335,000 to the General Fund. This transfer allows the City to perform the core services of city government at less of an impact to the taxpayer.
Q: The estimated city taxes for my $240,000 house are $900.66. Why does the notice that I received in November show an estimated bill much greater than that?
A: The property tax bill consists of more than just city taxes. Each property within the City pays taxes and special assessments to other governmental entities. Besides the City, the largest other portions of the property tax bill are paid to Douglas County and School District 206. The School District 206 property tax is broken into two sections, voter approved levies and other local levies.
There are also two special taxing districts that collect property taxes within the city limits. Those are the Alexandria Housing and Redevelopment Authority and the Lakes Area Economic Development Authority. There is also an annual special assessment for “solid waste”. This assessment is supports the activities of Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management. Finally, if you own certain types of non-residential property, there is a property tax called the State General Tax. This tax is set by the State of Minnesota and collected by the State.
We encourage you to contact these other entities for more information on their levy should you have questions.