By Sara QuamThe county now has a dollar figure for the new Law Enforcement Center, after county commissioners unanimously approved the lowest bid Tuesday.That came in at $1,775,800.The project will be completed by Gil Haugan Construction, Sioux Falls, S.D., with an estimated construction time of 300 days.Work will start as soon as the final contract is signed.The ground source heat pump option, rather than a traditional cooling and heating system, ended up saving the county $47,000. Plus, utility rates will be about $5,000 to $6,000 cheaper per year. On top of the construction expenses, commissioners estimate they will need to spend about $200,000 in additional moving expenses, furniture purchases, wiring, phone system and a new radio antenna on the building.Tax questionsAfter a recent letter from Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Communities to residents in Poplar Creek and The Oaks, county commissioners have been put on the spot with specific tax assessment questions.The letter said that mostly due to tax increases, residents in The Oaks would see $75- to $100-per-month rent increases and Poplar Creek residents would see $150- to $175-per month rent increases. The letter said that other factors, such as regular inflation and fuel and energy costs, also affect the rate change.However, the letter said that property taxes will increase 81.9 percent, which the county says is false.County Assessor Tom Houselog brought taxation information so commissioners could see the big picture when constituents question it.Houselog showed that The Oaks’ taxes actually decreased per unit from 2001 to 2005 (from $1,073 to $499.93). In 2006 there was an increase (to $574.16) mostly due to the voter-approved Luverne school referendum.Poplar Creek Estates began being taxed in 2005 at $297.93 per unit. In 2006, those taxes increased to $1,169 because it was fully constructed and occupied. Commissioner Ron Boyenga said he didn’t think the letter was fair because residents were paying about $30 in extra taxes, but the rent was going up much more than that, with the county taking the blame.Without the new construction and higher property value due to the Poplar Creek addition, the Good Samaritan Communities’ taxes wouldn’t have increased at all.