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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC BOARD OF REVIEW MINUTES 05101983 Meeting Sheet �.Y 101959 .a ,7 't 4 Box:*21 '. ;3 Folder: CC MINUTES AND AGENDAS 1983 Document: CC MINUTES 05101983 i .r r: o CITY OF ST. ANTHONY BOARD OF REVIEW May 10 , 1983 The Board of Review was called to order by Mayor Sundland at 6 : 30 P.M. Present for roll call: P4arks , Ranallo, Sundland and Letourneau. Enrooth arrived at 6 : 35 P.M. Also present : David Childs, City Manager; Richard Becken, Hennepin County Assessors Office; and Carol Johnson, Finance Director. The Mayor outlined the procedure which would be followed and ruled that the practice of not requesting a reevaluation where differences would be less than $500 would be followed again this year. Mr. Becken told approximately two dozen residents who were present that the 1983 estimated market value shown in the notices they had received within the last few weeks would be the only issue before the Board that evening. Mr . and Mrs . V.F. Scott indicated they were present to' "find out what's go- ing to happen down the road" since the valuation of their property at 2520 Pahl Avenue N.E. , had been raised in 1982 from $79 ,000 to $131 ,000 and to $123, 000 in 1983. Mr. Scott said he considers his home to be "overvalued" now. Mr. Becken told him the 1982 raise had probably resulted from onsite appraisal done by the County on all homes in the northeast quadrant of the City that year and the 1983 valuation had been established by computer for his home along with 750 of the remaining City homes which were not given onsite appraisals . The County spokesman told Mr. Scott there had been very little growth in valuations for single family residences in the past year and, since the valuations are based on the real estate market, those valuations should stay close to where they are as long as the market stabilizes . . He then advised the City resident that he could ask for a reappraisal of his 1983 valua- tion if he believes his home is overvalued and could file for an abate- ment of his 1982 valuation. When Mr. Scott indicated he would rather research the valuations which had been set in his neighborhood before risking another rise in valuation with another appraisal , Mr. Becken told him once the appraisal is made, it is considered the "bottom line" and values are not customarily raised with a reevaluation. The Scotts requested no further action be taken. Michael Spielmann reported he had purchased the home at 2813 Silver Lake Road, April 30th for $10 , 000 less than it had been evaluated for 1983 , which did not seem equitable to him. He said the County appraiser who he had requested to make a reappraisal of his home, had refused to lower the valuation. Mr. Becken said he would recommend the Board exercise its right to direct that valuation be reduced to the amount for which the property was sold, since the 1983 valuation should • certainly reflect that price. i -2- Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to ,i direct the Hennepin County Assessors- to reduce the valuation of the Michael J. Spielmann property at 2813 Silver Lake Road back to the purchase price paid for the property April 30 , 1983. Motion carried unanimously . Margaret Suhr, 3224 Chelmsford Road, indicated she was present to get a better understanding of howvaluations are set and to determine whether the raise she has received is out of line. The Mayor told her a majority of the homes in St. Anthony received a 10 .9% raise in 1982 which was based largely on the real estate sales made in the City the previous year. Several_ examples of such sales, which would appear to . justify a raise in valuation, were cited from the booklet which had been provided the Council members for reference . Mrs . Suhr ' s attention was drawn to Mr. Childs ' memorandum showing the valuation and taxes for a $79 , 000 home in St. Anthony, which illustrated just what portion of the taxes were attributable to the City, School District, County , and Metro District. No further action was requested by the property owner. Roy Perzel, 2521 - 27th Avenue N.E. , requested 'a reappraisal of his property saying his taxes had increased almost 100 percent and the only improvements he had made was a porch, which had no footings . Mr. Becken agreed that it did not appear that such a porch could be considered to add to the square footage of the home . Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to request that the property at 2521 - 27th Avenue N.E. be reappraised by Hennepin County . Motion carried unanimously . William Tabaika, 2512 - 27th Avenue N.E. , indicated he was present to try to find out why his property taxes had gone from $496 in 1982 to $960 in 1983 and his valuation from °x59 ,000 to $71 ,000 . The Mayor said he could sympathize with him since he had experienced a similar increase in taxes himself . When he asked whether Mr. Tabaika was requesting a reappraisal of his property , the homeowner replied "Let it ride. " William R. Dougherty , 3101 Armour Terrace, reminded the Board that his 1982 valuation .had been reduced following an onsite appriasal last year but said it had gone right back up this year. Mr. Becken indicated the reduction would not have been automatic in 1983 . Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded by Councilman Enrooth to request the County to reevaluate the property at 3101 Armour Terrace , as requested by the owner. Motion carried unanimously . Nancy and George Soldatow were present to protest what they perceive • to be an unfair valuation of $106 , 000 for their property at 3217 - 32nd Avenue N.E. Ms. Soldatow reported they had bought the property for $20 ,000 less than its valuation 1979 and abatement reduced the valuItion to a level they believe still to be too high for property for which t'_ \� -3- "could 3-"could never get more. than $100 ,000" . Because the Soldatows had their property reappraised within the last two weeks , and were still unhappy • with the ruling,. Mr. Beckers told. them. .he would record their protest . and advised them to set up an appearance before the County Board of Equalization, which meets in July. Councilman Enrooth advised them to bring any documents which .-supports their position, including the real estate appraisal the . co.uple had made., to the hearing. George Kaczor, 3404 - 32nd Avenue N.E.., had brought .with him several newspaper , articles which led him to believe the valuation of his home had been raised disportiona.tely as compared to homes in such communities as Edina who were ranked for higher taxes (or valuation) than St. Anthony. He also wanted to. know .why there is such a rapid rise for homes with higher valuation. Mr. Childs said some .of the data in the papers was erroneous . For example, rather than a $1 ,000 raise for a St. Anthony home worth $90 ,000., it would have been more accurate to say an $80 , 000 home would have received a $1, 100 raise. He also told Mr. Kaczor the first $60, 000 .valuation receives $650 in Homestead Credit, and anything above that is taxed at a flat rate. When Mr. Kaczor said his. wife owns property in Minneapolis for which the valu- ation is comparatively lower, the Mayor: told .him it is commonly perceived that St. Anthony property is worth more to a potential buyer than the same property in .Minneapolis . Mr. . Becken agreed that the valuations are affected by neighboring properties . Mr.. Kaczor said he would prefer getting a list of properties from the County with which he could compare valuations to, requesting a reappraisal at this time. • Jack Weinstock,. 3209 - 31st Avenue N.E. , told the Board he has had his home up for sale and listed with a real estate firm for two summers and has never received an offer to match the market value placed on it by the County. He reported he. has. filed for an abatement for 1982 and wanted an evaluation made -for 1983 , since he assumed from the conversa- tion that evening, that his 1983 valuation would not be automatically lowered even if the 1982 abatement were granted. Motion by Councilman Marks and and seconded by Councilman. Letourneau to request Hennepin County to reevaluate the property at 3209 - 31st Avenue N.E. for 1983 as requested by the owner. Motion carried unanimously. Ivar Slettemoen, 3027 - 31st Avenue N.E. , reported he has had his property reappraised twice and his valuation dropped because the County had the wrong square footage for the property from the time it was built. He thought .he should have gotten a refund in taxes for all fourteen years in which the home had been incorrectly valued. Mr. Becken told him, "the property- can only be abated for the current year plus two" . He also advised Mr. . Slettemoen that at the same time he could question the basis upon which the appraiser had ruled that a laundry tub could be combined. with a stool- in another room to form a half bath. Mr. Slettemoen inferred that he believed the only way he ; _. could reduce his property taxes was to vote the persons out of office who had been responsible for them: The Mayor told hin to .refer to Mr. Childs ' tabulations to see which government bodies were the most responsible for the raise in taxes . a -4- James Higgins, 3221 - 31st Avenue .N.E. , said he had his home reap- praised several months ago with no reduction of a property valuation raise from $56,000 to $82 ,000 or the resulting 156% raise in taxes payable in 1983. His 1983 valuation went down $40 . Mr. Higgins said his home is 23 years old and. has. its original roof and furnace and only half a basement and he does not think the . raise. was equitable after checking the -valuations of the homes around him. He was advised to file an abatement for 1982. The Board of. -Review- was recessed at . 7:50 P.M. for a meeting of the St. Anthony Housing and Redevelopment Authority . When the Board was reconvened at 8 :20 P.M. , Mike Fitzgerald indicated he was present to discuss the -9.. 3% raise in the 1982. valuation and corresponding 39% raise in taxes he had received for- his property at 2904 West Armour Terrace, which the retired-resident indicated had influenced his decision to move to Florida. . It was. his contention that taxes in Minnesota weredriving many. retirees away- from the state . The Mayor told him of the dilemma he perceives the City is in trying to maintain the same level of service to its residents at the same time less and less of the taxes .which St. Anthony residents pay into the state are returned to the City. The City Council has made con- tingency plans . for absorbing a--reasonable cut in state aid without reducing the level of Police , Fire and- Public Works service to the community but would have few alternatives - left if some of the legisla- tion being considered right now is passed. • Mr. Fitzgerald asked for no reappraisal of his property. Marie-. and Richard Winning, 2811 - 33rd Avenue-N.E. had registered to speak to the Board regarding their market .value but had not returned after the recess . Motion by Councilman Marks and seconded .by Councilman Ranallo to adjourn the Board of Review .to b*e reconvened at 7:00- P.M. , May 24 , 1983 just prior to the .r.egularly scheduled Council meeting that even- ing. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Helen Crowe , Secretary 0 OP a r ATTEST: �✓!/ City Clerk