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05-06-1983 CCMMINUTES BOARD OF REVIEW FRIDAY, MAY 6, 1983 The meeting was called to order by Mayor DeMeyer at 10:12 A.M. for the purpose of acting as a Board of Review for the 1983 assessments. Present were: Alderman Mike Carls, Alderman Ted Beatty and Mayor James G. DeMeyer. Absent: Alderman John Mlinar and Alderman Kenneth Gruenhagen. Also present: City Administrator Gary D. Plotz, County Assessor A. 0. "Tony" Victorian, Brad Emans and Hal Kirchoff from the County Assessor's Office. Mr. Gary Plotz read Publication No. 3052, Assessment Notice. The following ques- tions were presented by property owners regarding property assessments and reviewed by the Board. 1. Elmer Maker Stated he purchased his house located in 527 Graham Street Town & Country Estates in May 1982 and moved into it on June 3. He had discussed homestead credit with Brad Emans, but it did not appear on his 1983 tax notice. Brad Emans reported that June 1 was the cut- off date for homestead credit. He had dis- cussed this deadline with the property owner, and he was not eligible since he moved in on June 3. Tony Victorian suggested the property owner file through -the circuit breaker to try to obtain some of the tax amount back. It is based on income. 2. Rein Wickmann Thought his tax was high. He also had a prob- 518 Huron lem with homestead credit and had only received one-half for mid -year. There was one year the property was not homesteaded. Mr. Wickmann also owned a house in another city. 3. Rev. R. S. Crouse Commented that there was dead land in the back 590 Peterson Circle of the property and felt it was over -taxed. (Representing Mrs. Rev. Crouse asked for a re-evaluation of the Peter Ruud, 229 Fifth land. The property is presently for sale, Avenue NE) but no one has shown an interest in buying it. The property is owned jointly by Rev. Crouse and Mrs. Ruud. It was agreed that the assessors would come out and review the property.assessment. 4� 0 BOARD OF REVIEW MAY 6, 1983 PAGE 2 4. W. 0. Swenson Stated he had been told the taxes would not 105 Garden Road go up much, and they had gone up considerably. Mr. Swenson inquired how taxes were determined. He felt the valuation had dropped. Brad Emans stated the assessor goes through a house and determines the value. He had been through Mr. Swenson's house after the Clifton Heights area was annexed into the City limits. He further pointed out there were special as- sessments added on to the property taxes. Mr. Swenson commented he had been told a cer- tain amount for special assessments, and the figure was higher than quoted. He had been opposed to annexation from the beginning and had problems ever since annexed into the City. Mr. Victorian stated there had been a five- year stepup so taxes had gone up. Mr. Emans reported the value had stayed the same this year, but there was a $15,000 dif- ference between the City and township. The township taxes had not reflected an additional 216 square feet as well as extra plumbing and a fireplace. 5. John Miller Objected to the real estate taxes for resi- 714 Shady Ridge Road dential lots that were developed but vacant. Mr. Miller stated the taxes went up*30-40% the past year, which increased the cost of a lot by $1,000. There is a limit to what the buyer can pay so the owner gets stuck with the addi- tional cost. Out of 8 lots, he lost money on five of them. He couldn't understand how the City cost had gone up that much. Tony Victorian commented that throughout the county vacant lots are figured at 50% of the value for taxation purposes. The State deter- mines the tax on property. Once a house is placed on the lot, the value and tax go up. In past years, vacant lots carried a lower assessment, but the taxes have gone up in the last few years. The -Board of review adjourned at 11:10 A.M. and reconvened at 1:35 P.M. BOARD OF REVIEW MAY 6, 1983 PAGE 3 It was reported the assessors had reviewed the property of Rev. Crouse and Wally Swenson. An adjustment was made on the valuation of the back lot of the Crouse property, with a reduction in taxes of $1,600 (from $26,100 to $24,500). No change was made on the tax notice for Mr. Swenson's property. Discussion centered on the development lots owned by John Miller.at Clarks Second Addition. Mr. Miller was basically complaining because the taxes had increased, and he wasn't making any profit. There wasn't much the county could do about the value inasmuch as it was set at one-half the value b f the lot. A suggestion was made to defer assessments on development -type property. Mr. Victorian reported that for next year the ratio is low for commercial and in- dustrial properties; however, no definite figures will be known until November. There seemed to be a problem with apartment buildings since income wasn't support- ing the sale price. Mayor DeMeyer stated that in view of the reports and items reviewed, the Council should consider accepting the reports as outlined by the County Assessors. It was moved by Alderman Beatty to accept the report and recommendations on parcels discussed today. Motion seconded by Alderman Carls and carried unanimously. The motion was made by Alderman Beatty, seconded by Alderman Carls, to adjourn at 2:30 P.M. Motion approved unanimously.