06/24/1991 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION JUNE 24 1991 (5:36 P.M.) in Ramsey County. This was not the case in 1975, however, the area became the place to live. This drove up land values. Council Member Reinert asked what can be done with school districts to bring better balance. Mr. Smith explained what happened in the Centennial School District this year. The shift in fiscal disparities caught the District by surprise. Better communications are needed as well a new legislation dealing with fiscal disparities. Mayor Bisel explained that when a house is sold, the property is valued at the selling price. He felt that the value should be the selling price less the realtors fees. Mr. Smith said there was no provision in the law for this. Mayor Bisel noted that there have been some complaints that the assessor has used the wrong square footage in placing the value on the home. Mr. Smith said that usually the assessor goes to the site and measures the house rather than depend on blueprints for the information. He also showed the Council the form that is used when determining the value of a structure. Mr. Smith explained that patios will no longer be added to the value of the property. However, decks will still be considered since they add tangible value to the property. Council Member Reinert asked Mr. Smith if he had noted that the property values are greater in the southern portion of the City as compared to the northern portion of the City. Mr. Smith said this is true. He noted that he is now starting the second re- evaluation of the City. He will be looking at one fourth of the City this year starting in the northern areas. Mr. Smith did not see any large changes in valuations. Council Member Reinert asked if there was a great difference between assessing in Anoka County as compared to Ramsey County. Mr. Smith said there is a big difference due to the shortage of staff at Ramsey County. Ramsey County does a lot of appraisals by the "drive -by" method. Anoka County is much more comprehensive. The bottom line is that the state does not question Anoka County regarding its methods like they may question other counties. Mr. Smith explained that although the state has mandated certain appraisal practices and mandated that the counties be appraised at 100% of market value, this is not happening in every county. However, Mr. Smith felt the state is taking measures to make counties comply with state law and value properties fairly. He noted that Anoka County is almost the only county who complies with all state mandates. Council Member Bohjanen said it PAGE 2 221