1989-04-18 CC Board of ReviewC]
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BOARD OF REVIEW
APRIL 18, 1989
Mayor Gary Schwenafeier called the 1989 Board of Review meeting
to order Members present included Jim Krystosek, Donatus Vetsch, Bob
Braun and Don Cornelius Others present, included Maureen Andrews and
two representatives of the County Assessor's Office
The representatives of the County Assessor's Office pointed out
that the purpose of the hearing was to talk about 1989 property
assessments due and payable for the 1990 taxes and not the general
issue of taxes One of the Wright County representatives went on to
explain that this is the only opportunity for residents to have the
market values for their property adjusted if need be before they
receive their 1990 tax statements
Several people were present to express their concern regarding
the issue of taxes. In all instances, the discussion focused on taxes
and not property values
A question was raised regarding the increases made by the County
-- What determines the percentage of increase, who gets the increase
and what influence does the State of Minnesota have determining these
charges
The City's assessing is done through the method of mass approval,
which means that each year the assessor inspects 1/4 of the properties
located in the City, determines what types of sales have taken place
in each of the property classifications to determine what type of an
overall increase to the city's valuation It was noted that according
to State Statute each city is suppose to be at 100% of the market
value, but they are allowed a 10% variance. If, in the event that the
City's overall valuation does not meet the 90% mark the State
automatically increases the asaessed valuation for one year to bring
that City into conformance with the state law, meaning everyone gees
an increase For this reason, the assessor tries to keep the
valuations in the 92-96% to be on the safe side
In addition to the 1/4 of the properties checked each year, all
new construction, any property that was not completed at the end of
the year, the year prior is also looked at, and finally, any home that
has had a building permit issued during the year is looked at as well
There was also a question regarding the breakdown of taxes for
school, county and city The people present were informed that the
School District uses approximately 52%, the City uses 30% and the
County uses 20% of the allocated taxes
40 The people who got up and spoke did not question their valuation
on their homes but stated their concern about where taxes are going on
their property Mr Jim Hennum, being the spokesperson for the group,
showed the Council a select group of real estate listings showing some
homes in the metropolitan area that have lower taxes then the City of
Albertville He noted that something has to be done if houses are
going to continue to sell in Albertville
The minutes should note the groups biggest concern seemed to
focus on the issue of the St Michael Albertville School Districts
proposal to be building a new school at a quoted sum of some "14
million dollars" and what impact it will have on the local taxes
It was pointed out that if the citizens are concerned about the
school bond issue they need to more involved with what is happening on
the School District level The residents need to attend the meeting
so as to know what is going on
The minutes should also note that it was pointed out that the
City of Albertville's portion of the tax has not changed very much in
the past few year because the City has been able to capture any
increase in budget expenses through the increase in tax base
There was some discussion about the issues of homestead credits,
how the values are determined and what is the next step for these
• people
It was pointed out that the people present or who wrote a letter
are now allowed to go before the County Board of Review regarding the
issue of their market value The County Board of Review will be held
June 19 and 20, 1989 at 1 00 p m at the County Courthouse Those
wishing to be heard need to make an appointment with the County
Administrator's Office
Hearing no other questions or comments, Mayor Schwenzfeler asked
for a motion to adjourn the 1989 Board of Review The motion was made
by Bob Braun and seconded by Don Cornelius All were in favor and the
motion carried
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After a short break, the Council then settled into their work
meeting
Issues discussed included the cash flows from Juran and Moody for
blacktopping Psyk's 4th Addition and for John -George, Inc for a
possible expansion to the WESTWIND plat
There was also limited discussion regarding municipal building
expansion but due to the discussion which had just taken place during
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the Board of Review it was agreed that the timing was not the best for
this discussion It was also agreed that these schedules needed to be
expanded in the areas of additional income (i e fire contracts) and
carrying the debt out over a longer period of time Brad agreed to
•work out some new schedules and bring them back to the Council for
discussion.
The other issue discussed was the issue of providing Tax
Increment Financing to an interested party The Council was informed
that staff had met with the party earlier in the day and felt that
they were really interested in coming to the City of Albertville
Issues discussed included the fact that the party was not
interested in locating in the industrial park because of costs It was
noted that because our Comprehensive Plan stresses the desire to focus
on the park for industrial growth it might be advisable for the City
to meet with the representatives of Barthel Industrial Park to see if
they could be of any assistance in helping locate the business to the
park
Secondly, the issue of site improvements were discussed It was
pointed out that the party was not interested in installing black
topping, curb and gutter The Council was asked if they were willing
to waive the improvement requirements After some general discussion
it was agreed that all the improvements need to be installed per the
requirements of the City
There was also some discussion regarding how the information
should be presented to the interested party It was agreed that the
• staff would work out together three options for them to review The
options include
1 Locating in the Industrial Park, provided the park owners are
willing to provide a reduction in land costs to make the land more
competitive with the other site
2 Provide the financing for the Ackermann site bringing the
improvements to the back site as discussed in the meeting This
option would use most of the increment for the installation of
utilities, leaving little or none for the actual building
3 Provide the financing for the Ackermann site (7 5 acres)
using some of the monies for the removal of the house and farm site,
making this a redevelopment district In addition, the Council would
consider how to deal with the utility issue in this situation as well
After some additional discussion, it was agreed that staff
should put together a proposal and see if the party is still
interested in Albertville In the event that they are willing to go
forward with the project, a tax increment financing package will be
put together
Having no other matters to discuss the Council adjourned the work
meeting
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