Roberts County voters are deciding whether their property taxes will go up.

County commissioners decided to opt out of the state property tax freeze to bring in up to $500,000 more a year. But a petition has brought that to a public vote.

If the voters allow it, property owners in Roberts County could pay an extra 73 cents a year on every $1,000 of property for the next five years.

"No, I'm not in favor of a higher tax, no," Gordon Drake said.

"I don't think we have any choice," Jim Dady said.

Commissioners said the same when they unanimously passed the opt out in July.

If voters pass it too, the commission says it would use almost all, if not all, of the $500,000 the first year. After that it would depend.

If it doesn't pass, the county will make cuts. Most departments could see a ten percent cut in their budgets.

That’s one reason Dady of Sisseton supports the opt out.

"We can't operate without any money and if we don't get it now, we'll have some awful bad problems with snow removal and so forth," Dady said.

Drake also lives in Sisseton and understands the shortfall. But he’s voting against the opt out, saying the county should find another way to get by.

"Well, I think we got enough taxes. A lot of the people are having a hard time making ends meet now," Drake said.

Polls are open until 7 Tuesday night.

The county's budget needs to be done by October 1, so the county auditor is working on two drafts. In a special session, commissioners will finalize one of the drafts based on the election results.