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St. Louis County properties not added to tax rolls cost others money - TwinCities.com Page 4 of 6 Durward sent her report to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, which ultimately oversees disciplinary actions against assessors, saying that in addition to missing properties, "he just doesn't know how to do the work." "He has no experience in assessment of commercial and resort properties," she wrote. "Regardless of the reasons, the assessment service is not getting done at an acceptable level, and in many cases, not getting done at all." She asked the state to "initiate action" against Vidmar for failing to comply with his duties and state law. That didn't happen. John Hagen, director of the Department of Revenue's Property Tax division, which received Durward's 2004 report, was asked why no action was taken against Vidmar. "I can't recall," Hagen said. "I honestly cannot recall exactly how that was resolved." Some staff members from the Department of Revenue did come to St. Louis County and met with county assessors and some township board members, Hintz said, but they never met with Vidmar. "What they said when they left was they wanted to meet with Rick, and they wanted to schedule some audit meetings with them, and they wanted to sit in on those audits," Hintz said. "I did get those scheduled, but then Revenue said they couldn't make it, so they never followed through on it. So it basically ended there." Monacelli, who has been county recorder since the late 1980s, said that when he took over as head of the assessment department in August 2010, he asked the state why no action was taken against Vidmar. "They said it was a violation of county policy, not state statute," said Monacelli. "I don't see how not doing the work or not getting the work done is a violation of county policy." 'A TERRIBLE SITUATION' Cities and townships continued to hire Vidmar, and he continued to undervalue or miss improvements, according to county audits and other records. "The problem never went away," Hintz said. "Along the line, Rick had a couple of health issues...but the point is that doesn't excuse the assessor from doing the work. That's one of the dangers when all these jurisdictions hire a local assessor. You put all your eggs into one basket, and if that person has some health issues, you still have an obligation to make sure the assessment is completed. Whereas, with the county staff, if someone goes down, the work is still going to get done." In e -mails he sent to Hintz and other county assessors, Vidmar blamed his health for not meeting for audits. http: / /www.twincities. com/localnews /ci_ 20264312 /st- louis- county- properties- not - added -t... 11/19/2012