06-13-1979 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finally, some cities may wish to pick up on a hint that the Court gave in its Buettner decision, by making available to the property owner, as a part of the municipal assessment process, an adversary proceeding where evidence of market value improvement could be considered and made a part of the assessment determination. Without further pronouncements from the Minnesota Supreme Court, this approach is by no means a guaranteed cure for assessment appeal problems. How- ever, it would seem reasonable that the assessment hearing notice could contain a statement that those who wish to dispute their assessment as determined in usual formula fashion may notify the council, and the council can then arrange for a hearing before an impartial hearing officer. The property owner could then put in such testimony as he thinks is relevant concerning the im- provement in market value of his property, and the city could do likewise. The city could then adopt the assessment role, including assessments determined on a conventional formula basis and also including those determined in adversary proceedings. The language of Buettner seems to indicate that the Supreme Court would limit the trial court to a review upon the record (without new testimony) if such adversary hearings were held and an adequate record made as part of the city's assessment proceedings. If that is the ultimate decision of the Supreme Court, the city would have some greater certainty as to the amount of money it could expect to collect, much earlier than if it waited for a district court "THE TANK WITH THE RED ROOF" Complete Service on Your Water Storage Tank Painting — Repairing Sandblasting — Roofs — Jackets Maintenance Contracts — Ladder Cages Thermal Heaters for Water Tower Freeze Protection Int. Inspection By Closed Circuit TV Available WATERTOWER PAINT & REPAIR CO., INC. Box 67 Clear Lake Iowa 50428 Over 50 Years Serving Municipalities Phone: Area 515/FL 7 -2101 or FL 7-2102 A. J. BOUDREAU Minnesota Field Supervisor Pengilly, Minnesota (218) 855-1074 Member of American Water Works Association 32 — ? 7 trial which disregards all prior municipal proceedings. This last potential solution offers no real certainty to a city until such a procedure is appealed to the Supreme Court and sustained. Undoubtedly, before the next session of the legislature, proposals will be made to address problems raised by the Buettner case by amendment to the statutes. How- ever, a statutory remedy will not be easily found, since the problem the Court found with local assess- ment proceedings is constitutional in its origin. In the meantime, governing bodies will have to examine their assessment rolls in a very practical way to determine whether or not an appeal is likely to result from a particular assess- ment and whether that assessment is realistic in- view of the real estate market in their city. x.. from Coast -:to - :Coast and Canada; too olmanize Pressure- Treated Lumber Preferred by Public officials Wolmanized Lumber is Treated to Last a lifetime for •PLAYGROUNDS *PARKS *BUILDINGS Coll Us at 612-3781520 • . M. STEWART LUMBER COMPANY, INC.• A Subsidiary of tom, LONE STAR INDUSTRIES 421 JOHNSON ST. N.E.' ='.'. MINNEAPOLIS;'MINNESOTA 55413 G (365 MINNESOTA CITIES