If this tax levy passes, how much money will it cost me?
The funding for KHC will be made through property taxes and charged only in Kanabec County. (The levy would make KHC and ECRDC the only organizations to collect county-wide property tax.) This means the tax is calculated per individual, depending on the size and value of the property you own.
It will cost residents of Kanabec County approximately under $5 per year, with $5 (potentially a bit more for more expensive properties) being the higher end and $1 being the lower end. Most people in Kanabec County will only be paying $2-$4 per year.
For example, a residential homestead property worth $98,000 in Mora would pay about $1.46 to KHC per year. A residential homestead property worth $300,000 would pay around $4.00 to KHC per year. (Meaning a $1.46 or $4.00 increase to property taxes.)
If you're more familiar with finances, these details might help you estimate how much you'd pay:
(There would not be an increase in this tax unless KHC asked to have an increase to the levy put on another ballot and voted on by the people. In other words, this tax will not automatically increase annually.)
It will cost residents of Kanabec County approximately under $5 per year, with $5 (potentially a bit more for more expensive properties) being the higher end and $1 being the lower end. Most people in Kanabec County will only be paying $2-$4 per year.
For example, a residential homestead property worth $98,000 in Mora would pay about $1.46 to KHC per year. A residential homestead property worth $300,000 would pay around $4.00 to KHC per year. (Meaning a $1.46 or $4.00 increase to property taxes.)
If you're more familiar with finances, these details might help you estimate how much you'd pay:
- For our levy, the rate applied to the tax capacity of each parcel of property in Kanabec County would be .2010.
- Another helpful way to estimate how much money you'd be giving to KHC is by looking at the item for East Central Regional Development Commission (ECRDC) on your tax form. KHC's levy will be about 15% more than ECRDC's. This means if our ECRDC payment was $3.00 last year, KHC would only be $3.45 on your taxes. For the price of a latte from the Holiday Gas Station, or a candy bar from the check-out isle of Coborns or Dollar General, you could save the Kanabec History Center!
(There would not be an increase in this tax unless KHC asked to have an increase to the levy put on another ballot and voted on by the people. In other words, this tax will not automatically increase annually.)
How do I help Kanabec History Center?
Vote! Donate! Volunteer!
We love to have volunteers helping at KHC, and we're very grateful for individuals and businesses who have become involved with the History Center. We are currently looking for more Board Members who have fresh views, and the time to make the History Center great again! We appreciate everyone's assistance in boosting KHC visibility, and your support by advertising through your friends and family. Of course...we will always accept monetary and material donations of any amount.
What do we need the most? Your assistance and commitment to KHC to vote YES on the November 2022 ballot, and to help us spread the word to our Kanabec County residents to ensure they too will be voting YES.
We love to have volunteers helping at KHC, and we're very grateful for individuals and businesses who have become involved with the History Center. We are currently looking for more Board Members who have fresh views, and the time to make the History Center great again! We appreciate everyone's assistance in boosting KHC visibility, and your support by advertising through your friends and family. Of course...we will always accept monetary and material donations of any amount.
What do we need the most? Your assistance and commitment to KHC to vote YES on the November 2022 ballot, and to help us spread the word to our Kanabec County residents to ensure they too will be voting YES.
If KHC is so low on money, why didn't the organization act sooner?
We have been actively trying to get the word out for the past several years, but our attempts at finding additional sources of income through community funds or County/City entities has failed.
For most of the Kanabec History Center's existence, KCHS/KHC relied on funds donated to our organization by Kanabec County residents, and also from local organizations such as County/City funding. Over the years, the economy and inflation have proposed numerous cuts in the amount of funding we have received. Because of our non-profit status (meaning we don't receive any state or federal funding, and since the County nor Cities are required to give us funding), we lost some of our largest - and occasionally only sources of income. We experienced a severe cut in County funding in the early 1990's, which has never been restored to it's original amount.
When it became apparent that the History Center was quickly losing money and coming very close to closing, a new Director was hired in 2014. Although we were able to greatly cut expenses and keep the doors open, but over the last eight years, we have continued to struggle with decreasing amount funds. We have not been able to hire sufficient office staff. We struggle with the decreasing number of volunteers. Our Board has made regular, and valiant attempts to secure funding from the residents, members, and community to try to gain increases in our operating funds.
Although our support from the County and City have steadily grown smaller and smaller, our Townships' monetary support has remained. We have received some very generous private donations also. This funding is extremely appreciated, and we are incredibly grateful for the communities and those persons who do continue to support KCHS/KHC! Unfortunately, it's still not enough on a regular basis to cover the overhead and expenses of the History Center.
Our dedicated staff and Board has been working hard to get another tax levy on the ballot to obtain community funding. (Unfortunately, due to what we have seen and heard, there was a lack of awareness about our 2020 tax levy, and we were up against a multi million dollar School Bond also on the ballot.) We have now succeeded in getting the levy back on the ballot for the November 2022 Elections and the voters voices. We sincerely hope in November 2022, you'll be showing your support by voting YES!
*For more and more detailed information, see our "Elaboration" below the FAQs.
For most of the Kanabec History Center's existence, KCHS/KHC relied on funds donated to our organization by Kanabec County residents, and also from local organizations such as County/City funding. Over the years, the economy and inflation have proposed numerous cuts in the amount of funding we have received. Because of our non-profit status (meaning we don't receive any state or federal funding, and since the County nor Cities are required to give us funding), we lost some of our largest - and occasionally only sources of income. We experienced a severe cut in County funding in the early 1990's, which has never been restored to it's original amount.
When it became apparent that the History Center was quickly losing money and coming very close to closing, a new Director was hired in 2014. Although we were able to greatly cut expenses and keep the doors open, but over the last eight years, we have continued to struggle with decreasing amount funds. We have not been able to hire sufficient office staff. We struggle with the decreasing number of volunteers. Our Board has made regular, and valiant attempts to secure funding from the residents, members, and community to try to gain increases in our operating funds.
Although our support from the County and City have steadily grown smaller and smaller, our Townships' monetary support has remained. We have received some very generous private donations also. This funding is extremely appreciated, and we are incredibly grateful for the communities and those persons who do continue to support KCHS/KHC! Unfortunately, it's still not enough on a regular basis to cover the overhead and expenses of the History Center.
Our dedicated staff and Board has been working hard to get another tax levy on the ballot to obtain community funding. (Unfortunately, due to what we have seen and heard, there was a lack of awareness about our 2020 tax levy, and we were up against a multi million dollar School Bond also on the ballot.) We have now succeeded in getting the levy back on the ballot for the November 2022 Elections and the voters voices. We sincerely hope in November 2022, you'll be showing your support by voting YES!
*For more and more detailed information, see our "Elaboration" below the FAQs.
If KHC is only going down $20,000+ per year, why is the tax levy for $45,000?
Initial calculations, which we used to determine how much money we would need from the residents of Kanabec County, lead us to a taxable percentage which we estimated would provide us with $20,000 per year. It was only after the tax levy was approved to be on the ballot and professional numbers were crunched that we learned our estimated percentage of property tax increase would equate to $45,000 per year.
This is more than we expected, however, it is not more than we need. $45,000 is not enough to hire new employees, make repairs to our historic buildings and artifacts, or make improvements to our building or resources. It is just enough to keep our doors open and ensure that the lights stay on and our staff are paid!
This is more than we expected, however, it is not more than we need. $45,000 is not enough to hire new employees, make repairs to our historic buildings and artifacts, or make improvements to our building or resources. It is just enough to keep our doors open and ensure that the lights stay on and our staff are paid!
Would the closure of Kanabec History Center be a loss to my community?
Kanabec History Center is home to the stories and memories of families, businesses, and community history. We preserve the past of Kanabec County and all of its inhabitants and most key moments and events, as well as various history for similar cultures and other places that families traveled to or came from. Additionally, we are very involved in our community and always welcome to more community involvement. We love working with the schools, local families, and other businesses to provide learning experiences, a place to store and keep treasured memories and records, and places to share and connect.
If we were to close, all of the knowledge, heritage, and community growth would be lost. The closure of Kanabec History Center would absolutely be a terrible loss to this community.
For more and more detailed information, see our Elaboration below the FAQs.
If we were to close, all of the knowledge, heritage, and community growth would be lost. The closure of Kanabec History Center would absolutely be a terrible loss to this community.
For more and more detailed information, see our Elaboration below the FAQs.
Why doesn't the kanabec history center use volunteer staff / more volunteer workers to cut charges?
We are always looking for volunteers to help out! In this day and age, it is hard for a two parent working family to find the time to volunteer. Many of our volunteers cannot commit to a regular schedule. It is our dream to one day run on a volunteer staff made up from community members who care passionately for KHC. If you or anyone you know is interested in working at KHC as part of our part-time staff team, we need any and all the help we can get! You can find more information about volunteering, on our Join Our Staff page, or call us at 320-679-1665 Wed - Saturday!
At the Kanabec County Historical Society/Kanabec History Center (KCHS/KHC), we believe in history. We value the past and believe that history is also being made every day, by everyday people. We believe in memories, and in the stories of the people of Kanabec County.
This has been our passion, and motivation since the Kanabec History Center opened on June 24, 1978. The property KHC sits on and the building itself were dedicated to the Kanabec County Historical Society by Pete McVay, in loving memory of his wife, Mary. The powerful words of Pete McVay gave us our statement of purpose:
"We are a bridge between those who preceded us and those will follow us. Let us preserve and honor the
best of yesterday, that it may guide us to a better tomorrow."
KCHS/KHC's purpose is to collect and preserve the history of Kanabec County specifically. Our focus and dedication is to safeguard and care for the past; and ensure the local history of Kanabec County's people is never lost or forgotten. It is more than anyone could have hoped/dreamed for Kanabec History Center - to be operating ninety-four years after the Kanabec County Historical Society was first formed. We could not be more grateful to the community that has supported and shared our love for history.
Kanabec County Historical Society/Kanabec History Center is a non-profit organization. We do not receive state or federal funding, or mandatory financial support from the County or Cities. We rely heavily on memberships, memorial funds, fundraisers, donations, and non-required contracted funds from our townships. In recent years funding from our residents, the City, County, etc. has experienced cuts. Also with higher inflation, this funding covers less and less of our overhead and operating expenses. We apply throughout the year for sponsorships, grants, and donations, although our need is mostly for general operating funds and maintenance projects.
- For the past several years we have only been able to employ one or two staff people. Today, we continue to operate with only one part-time paid employee - our Director. We need more manpower and rely heavily on Volunteers. For volunteering opportunities, please give us a call at 320-679-1665, or email us at [email protected]. We also work with the SCSEP program for seniors ages 55+.
- We depend on our Business members, Board members, Residents, and additional volunteer Staff to continue to operate the History Center - we have some of the best membership counts of Historical Society's within Minnesota - thanks to all of you!
- We invite and attract area recreational traffic with our walking and bike trails, events, museum and displays, and our rental hall. We host many of our local organization's meetings and activities.
- We hold various programs for our youth through our Old Tyme Country School, and our local school tours.
- We promote our local artists, writers, musicians, and photographers, etc.
- We offer a vast area of research, resources, and information that date back to the early 1900's. We provide our local newspaper with our area's past history and photos.
- Our committed staff, devoted volunteers, and passionate Board Members all dedicate hard work, time, and energy to accomplish these services. Kanabec County Historical Society/Kanabec History Center is pledged to protecting and preserving the history of Kanabec County and its residents! Some of our most precious artifacts and history, are the photographs and stories that come from Kanabec County's families, their journeys, and their accomplishments.
We leave you with words from Pete McVay's groundbreaking speech given on behalf of the Kanabec History Center:
“We have an interest in history because we know that we are whatever we are, is largely because of those who preceded us. We know that we have what we have, we live as we live in no small measure - because of their work and sacrifices. From our fathers and our fathers’ fathers, we have received a faith, a set of moral standards, a code of ethics, and a culture. We have received some appreciation of beauty, kindness, and love. We have been taught to seek knowledge. We have been inspired to search for a better life – a life better not only in a material way, but a life that reflects a better understanding with more consideration of our neighbors and of all men. We are indeed a fortunate people. So as our forefathers’ courage, determination, sacrifices, visions, and love were great – so is our heritage and our benefits great.”
|
|
|
