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• <br />• <br />CITY COUNCIL <br />AGENDA ITEM 3B <br />STAFF ORIGINATOR: Jeff Karlson <br />MEETING DATE: November 26, 2012 <br />TOPIC: Joint Powers Agreement with Anoka Co. for Assessment Services <br />VOTE REQUIRED: 3/5 <br />INTRODUCTION <br />At the last City Council meeting, the Council was asked to consider approving a Joint Powers <br />Agreement (JPA) with Anoka County for assessment services for years 2013 through 2018. <br />The parcel rate for each type of property would remain unchanged for the duration of the <br />contract period. At the request of Councilmember Stoesz, this item was postponed until the <br />November 26 meeting for further discussion. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Cities use one of the following three methods for property assessments: (1) hire its own in- <br />house assessor; (2) contract with county assessor; or (3) contract with a private appraiser. <br />In Anoka County, there are currently three cities that employ a city assessor: Anoka, Coon <br />Rapids, and Fridley. There are ten other cities in the metropolitan area that employ its own <br />assessor —all of them located in Hennepin County with a population of at least 50,000, with <br />one exception (Brooklyn Center at 30,000). Based on the Minnesota Local Government Salary <br />& Benefits Survey, the average salary for a city assessor is $101,000. In Anoka County, the <br />average salary is $90,000. When you include benefits and gas or mileage expense, a <br />conservative annual cost estimate for an in -house assessor would be around $120,000. <br />Most cities in Anoka use the County Assessor. The charges Lino Lakes has paid the county for <br />the past three years are as follows: 2010 -- $101,273; 2011- $97,478; and 2012 -- $97,577. I know <br />of four Anoka Co. cities that contract with a private appraiser: Spring Lake Park, Centerville, <br />Columbus, and East Bethel. One of the downsides of hiring a private contractor is we cannot <br />be sure of getting quality assessments. For example, attached is a newspaper article about <br />private assessors incorrectly assessing properties in St. Louis County. <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />It is still staff's recommendation to adopt Resolution No. 12 -109, approving a joint powers <br />agreement with Anoka County for assessment of property. <br />ATTACHMENTS <br />1. Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Lino Lakes and County of Anoka for <br />Assessment of Property <br />2. Duluth News Tribune article <br />