Cook County taxpayers should be alarmed over the prospect of both MN Power’s Taconite Harbor Energy Center and Cleveland Cliffs railroad/taconite loading docks being idle. Pressure is being placed by the MN Public Utilities Commission to close the power plant in Schroeder with a loss of 47 full-time high-wage jobs.
Without use of either one of the facilities, a good case could be made in the future to remove Cook County from the Taconite Relief District.
Government, organizations and individual taxpayers would be impacted financially. According to figures obtained from Tony Sertich, director of the IRRRB, the City of Grand Marais, townships and nonprofit organizations in Cook County have received $1,901,210 in grants during the last 10 years for special projects.
As confirmed by County Auditor Braidy Powers, in 2011 taxpayers received $509,773 in taconite tax credits to offset their property tax payments. A homesteaded resident would have to pay $290 more per year without this credit alone.
In addition to the amounts above, taconite production tax payments were received in Cook County last year as follows: Cook County – $279,797; Lutsen – $13,227; Schroeder – $60,575; Tofte – $8,093; ISD 166 – $320,392 for general purpose use plus $503,465 for bond payments on the 1998 school addition.
We should be aware of the potential consequences of biting the hand that feeds us!
Bruce Martinson
Cook County Commissioner
District 5
Leave a Reply