Thanksgiving Fire Safety

Did you know?

Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment, with more than three times the average number. Christmas Day and Christmas Eve ranked second and third, with both having nearly twice the daily average.

Thanksgiving brings a flurry of activity, with multiple dishes cooking and baking at the same time, along with family and friends, entertaining and other distractions that can make it easy to forget about what is on the stove or in the oven.

The Owatonna Fire Department is reminding residents to follow a few simple tips to keep your family safe from fire during the holiday season:

• Never leave food cooking on the stove unattended. Use a timer when baking.
• Stay home when cooking the turkey and check on it often.
• Keep children away from the stove. Create a 3’ kid-free zone around the stove.
• Make sure smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

Source: NFPA.org.

City of Owatonna Budget Process

The City of Owatonna will held its annual Truth-in-Taxation meeting December 5. Each taxing jurisdiction (the City, County and School District) holds a Truth-in-Taxation meeting annually to publicly present a summary of and receive input on their proposed budgets. The City Council is expected to adopt its final 2023 budget and levy at its December 19 meeting. Until the final budget is adopted, the City Council may lower it from the preliminary budget amount but cannot increase it.

The tax statements received by property owners from the County Auditor’s Office in November were created based on property tax valuations and the City’s proposed 2024 levy and budget. Property tax valuations were set in March and the public was invited to attend the annual Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting in April to provide input on valuations. Budgets for all three taxing jurisdictions are planned based, in part, on tax revenues calculated from these valuations.

Check out the City’s budget in an interactive document that can be found online at www.owatonna.gov/Finance. Community members are encouraged to provide input throughout the budget process by contacting a City Council member or the mayor. For questions regarding property valuations, taxes or property tax relief options, please contact the County Assessor’s Office at 507-444-7435.