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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 [04] Apr 18 Page 3721 April 18, 2000 I City of St Joseph City Council Meeting 4/18/00, 1:00 PM 1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of st. Joseph met on Tuesday, April 18th, 2000 at 6:30 p.m. as the Board of ReviewÆqualization in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Bob Loso, Cory Ehlert, Mary Niedenfuer, and Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmidt. Members Absent: Ken Twit Others Present: City Assessor Ollie Lesnick, steams County Senior Appraiser Robert Lindvall and Jeff Reber. 2. Mayor Hiemenz opened the meeting for public comments and questions. Jeff Reber addresSéd the Board regarding his assessment 84.5379.010. Reber questioned why his taxes have gone up $19,000. Ollie Lesnick, the City Assessor, stated that real estate sales are at an all time high with the values increasing every year. Lesnick also pointed out that Reber made some improvements to his preperty in terms of a deck. Lesnick asked Reber if TIe thought his house wasn1 worth that much? Reber stated that he thought it was but was surprised with the increases every year. Lesnick explained that assessment value is not the issue, and that an increasing value is not a negative thing. I Lesnick asked Reber if his taxes went down this year and Reber said no. In 1999, it was $1647 and in 2000 it was $1675 so they were about the same. Lesnick explained thatforthe square footage of the home, the value seems appropriate. The real issue is equalization and how he compares to the homes around him. Lesnick explained that the values are done by computer and that homes of that size are pretty uniform. Reber explained that he just wanted to come in and ask about the steady increase. Lesnick told Reber that if he decided that he wasn1 happy with the result, he would be getting a notice in the mail and could go the County Board meeting forrelief. If he hadn1 come to this meeting though, he wouldn't have been able to go to the County. I Schmidt stated that the City had received two written protests to their assessments. The first letter was from Robert Clinton Bogard Jr. The letter stated" To Whom II May Concem: I am a resident of st. Joseph's Northland Addition and I am writing to disagree about the estimated market value of my home and the constant, -consistent increases in recent times. Not only have they been constantly increasing since 1996, but they also seem to be taking "great leaps" each year! it is now high enough to the point that I am seriously questioning its inflated level! My next door neighbor has had his home up for sale well over a month and has yet to receive any serious offers from anyone. The question that I have is whether Northland Addition is as 'hot as everyone thinks? In the last three years, the increases have gone from 2% to 6% to 10%. What is the reason and where is the end? I realize that over the past few years the City has erected a new water tower, built a new fire hall, an have made miscellaneous improvements with roads, police and maintenance. I also realize that within this same time period, I have performed some improvements to my home such as a deck, air conditioner and landscaping. But, as hardworking citizens, I really feel we all can only afford so much, and in smaller more palatable increments. There must be more accountability and "reasons for the madness" of these constant increases and inflated levels I In dosing, please accept this letter as my official appeal so I may begin the process of trying II to lower my property's estimated market value to a level which makes much more sense and is much more affordable. Thank you for your time and consideration. I would greatly appreciate any understanding and cooperation in this matter. Sincerely, Robert Clinton I Bogard, Jr." Schmidt stated that his property identification is 605 4th Ave NE, R84.53734.130 I Page 3722 April 18, 2000 Lesnick stated that he visited with Mr. Bogard and that he understood that the market value of his house has gone up and that the market itself is really hot right now. He is simply concemed about spending in the City. His neighbor's home is still up for sale, but the fact that he hasn1 sold it yet is probably more indicative of it being listed for too high of a price. Schmidt stated that the second letter the City received was from William and Mary Simon. The letter read: "Dear Counsel members: We are writing to you this date to appeal the estimated and taxable market value we just received from the Steams County Assessor on our home in St. Joseph, MN. For the year 1998, the county assessed our property at: $67500. For the year 1999, the County assessed our property at $70,600. For the year 2000 the County assessed our property at $73,800. For the year 2001 , the County assessed our property at $80,100. We have not made improvements on this property and yet the value the County has assessed our property is $6,300 more than the year 2000, and $12600 higher than it was just three years ago. Neither the City of St. Joseph, nor the County of Steams have made any improvements in our neighborhood to justify such an increase. We feel the value of our property should be set to what it was in 1998. Thank you for your time. William and Ma~ Simon. Property Identification: R84.53707.000, Sect. 10 TWP-124 Range-029, Loso's 5 Addition, Lot 008, Block 003.' Lesnick stated that he visited with Mrs. Simon. She understood about the market situation right now. It's a beautiful home surrounded by Norway Pines. He stated that he will also be contacting Mr. Simon. I Ehlert stated that Northland Addition is really not selling well. Most of the homes are up for 120-150 days. Ehlert asked if it was possible to isolate and re-evaluate specific areas and developments like this one. Lesnick stated that this is possible but for the record, this ratio study was done between 10/1/99 and 4110/00. He stated that perha¡D5 the market is starting to mellow out. Lesnick stated the real thing to watch for is good equalization, which means that the homes are similar in quality and features. Hiemenz stated that he received a call from Donna Eveslage, 84.53936.000 at 7'" and Able. Her tax preparer alerted her to a possible mistake in her tax structure. She stated that her taxes in 1998 were $73,300, in 1999 were $87,900 and in 2000 were $91,600. She was curious why there was such a huge difference. Lesnick stated that from 1997-1998, there was a sizeable jump that could be attributed to moving to the new computer system. Lesnick stated that he would stop over and speak with her about this. I ,Loso asked Lesnick if he would also do are-evaluation ofthe City's owned Roth property, 84.53430.066. Loso stepped down from his Board seat and officially appealed the assessment for the Roth property. Hiemenz explained that the City paid approximately $55,000 for the property. Lesnick stated that he would also look at this property. Lesnick stated that he would speak with Mrs. Eveslage and review th,e City property. Lesnick recommended that the Board recess and reconvene at the City Council meeting on the 20th to accept or make changes to the recommendations made by the City Assessor. Loso made a motion to recess and reconvene on Thursday, Apri12d" at 7:00 PM. The motion was seconded by Niedenfuer and passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, ~. 5.u+- Cari Schmidt Clerk/Administrator City of Sl Joseph I