Some Minneapolis residents with pending property tax assessments for condemned ash tree removals received relief after a private foundation donated funds to ease their financial burden.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board received a $500,000 donation from the Margaret A. Cargill Fund of the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation to help homeowners who were facing assessments for trees that were condemned and removed due to emerald ash borer, an invasive species. Such homeowners have not begun paying off assessments through their property taxes.
The money will automatically be used to pay off pending property tax assessments issued to residents in environmental justice areas who had ash trees condemned and removed by the Park Board, according to a December 1 news release.
“We are so grateful for Margaret A. Cargill Fund of the Saint Paul Minnesota Foundation for stepping up and helping the Minneapolis community with this need,” Park Board Superintendent Al Bangoura said in a statement. “Emerald ash borer has been killing ash trees throughout the city since it was discovered in 2010 and the number of condemnations has increased.
“We have heard from the community that the assessments are having an inequitable impact on homestead property owners within disadvantaged communities. Since the MPRB (Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board) cannot pay for private tree removal, this generous donation will offer relief to many impacted homeowners.”
The Minneapolis Park Board has condemned more than 18,000 ash trees since 2013. Homeowners with condemned trees either paid directly for their removal, or the city paid the cost and assessed it—or added the cost as a fee—onto the homeowner’s property taxes.
The funding will apply to areas labeled as disadvantaged communities by the White House Council on Environmental Quality Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, which considers historical pollution, diversity, and income levels. The neighborhoods, known as environmental justice areas, include much of the North Side and portions of south Minneapolis. They are the same areas that are eligible for a separate $8 million federal grant that will only pay for future ash tree removal. The federal grant does not apply to homeowners who are facing assessments, or those who are actively paying off assessments.
The Park Board made 885 assessments worth about $2 million before pausing its assessment process this past May. The donation from the St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation will cover those pending assessments in environmental justice areas. The Park Board hopes to use any leftover funds to provide relief to residents of those neighborhoods who already had their assessments levied onto their property taxes, that is, residents who are actively paying off assessments through their property taxes.
The average tree removal cost was $1,500 in 2022, according to the city of Minneapolis, but some assessments on large trees cost as much as $10,000.
In a story about the federal grant published last month, several north Minneapolis residents told Sahan Journal they were frustrated with the ash tree condemnation process and were struggling with hefty bills.
Willis White, who was assessed more than $7,500 for a large ash tree removed from his yard in the Jordan Neighborhood, was grateful to hear about the new Park Board donation. His bill will be wiped clean.
“That is a big help. I thank all the people that fought for us,” White said.
Unlike the new $500,000 donation, the $8 million federal grant will only be available for future condemnations. Bangoura said in October that he was looking for a philanthropic partner to help those homeowners.
Households eligible for the retroactive help will automatically have their bills settled by the city, and will not need to apply for the relief, according to the Park Board. The city released a list of 169 qualifying properties, which have about $370,000 assessed against them.
The Park Board plans to use the remaining funds to automatically pay off assessments that are filed between November 1 and whenever the federal grant becomes available.
City and Park Board officials say they are awaiting full guidance and official funding from the U.S. Forestry Service before distributing the $8 million grant. Should any funding remain from the $500,000 donation, residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods currently paying off ash tree assessments will be allowed to apply for needs-based relief.
Park Board commissioners will vote Wednesday on a resolution that would pause the ash tree condemnation process until the $8 million federal grant is in place.
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“While we are deeply grateful for this gift, we know our work is not finished,” Bangoura said. “We will continue to search for federal and state grants and philanthropic entities to give more homeowners financial relief.”
The Park Board made several changes this year to the ash tree condemnation process in response to public pushback. The Park Board now requires tree removal companies to first examine the trees in order to get more competitive bids for removals that will be assessed against a homeowner’s property taxes. Previously, only special trees with difficult removal circumstances would get in-person inspections from companies bidding to remove them.
Information about tree removal is now available in multiple Hmong, Spanish, and Somali on the Park Board website.
