6.6. SR 02-05-1996ITE~ 6~6~
'ity of
iver
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
MEMORANDUM
Mayor and City Council
Sandra Thackeray, City Clerk
February 5, 1996
City Board of Review
The Sherburne County Assessor has requested the Council to meet
on April 30 at 6:00 p.m. as the City Board of Review. If this is
acceptable to the Council, a motion should be made calling a special
meeting.
Attached for your review is some information taken from the
Minnesota League of Cities Handbook relating to the role of the
Board of Review.
ACTION REQ UES TED
Council motion to call a special meeting of the City Council on April
30, 1996, at 6:00 p.m. to be held at the Sherburne County Government
Center.
s :\council\review.doc
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
CHAPTER 22
to the full property tax plus the property
tax on the property at the time the defer-
raj took effect, times the number of years
of the deferral.
Equalization Procedures
Once the assessors have completed
their work, the city, county, and state
levels of government review and modify,
with limitations, the assessments. During
this review, two kinds of corrections are
possible: the governing body may check
the assessor's lists for accuracy, hear
individual complaints, and make any
necessary adjustments; and it may equal-
Ize the ratio of market to assessed market
values. The first function is the sole
concern of the city board of review, while
the county and state boards devote more
time to the latter task.
When the entire procedure is complete,
the county auditor puts the valuations in
the records to use when making up the
tax rate figures. Only when all three levels
of government have reviewed and equal-
ized the assessments, do they become the
official assessed values.
CITY BOARD OF REVIEW
The city council may serve as the board
of review in cities which have been sepa-
rated from the town.~ In cities which have
not been separated from the town for
assessment and election purposes, the
town board serves as the board of review.
The city council may appoint a special
board of review. It may delegate to the
board all of the powers and duties the
council would have If it acted as the board
of review. The members of the special
board of review serve at the direction and
discretion of the council. The council
determines the number of members, the
compensation and expense payments, and
the term of office. At least one member of
the board must be an appraiser, realtor,
or other person familiar with property
valuations in the assessment district.
The board of review meets in the city
clerk's office. The city assessor and the
county assessor must attend this meeting
with their assessment books and papers.
These officials may take part in the pro-
ceedings, but may not vote.
The meeting date of the board of review,
which must be between April 1 and May
31. is fixed by the county assessor on or
before April 1 of each year by giving
written notice to the city clerk. After
receiving the notice, the clerk must give
published and posted notice of the meet-
lnl at least 10 days before the date of the
meeting.
A majority of the members may take
action at the board of review meeting and
may adjourn the meeting from day to day
for a period of 20 days until they complete
their work. After 20 days, the board has
no authority and any action it takes is
invalid unless the commissioner of rev-
enue has granted an extension.
In fulfilling its role, the board of review
has three main functions.
· It must review the assessor's list,
making sure that all taxable property
in the city has been properly placed on
the list.
· It must review the assessor's
valuations, striving to standardize the
ratio between market value and
adjusted market value for each
individual piece of property. To
accomplish this, the board may raise
or lower valuations on individual
properties, but it cannot Increase
valuations without notifying the
property owner and giving that person
an opportunity to be heard.
· The board must hear and settle the
complaints of individual property
owners regarding the valuations on
their property.
If a person fails to appear in person or
through counsel or written communica-
tion before the board of review after
receiving notice of Intent to raise the
assessment, or if a person fails to apply
for a review of the assessment, that
person may not appear before the county
board of equalization for a review of the
assessment. An exception is when the
assessment takes place after the meeting
of the board of review or when aggrieved
individuals can establish that they did not
receive notice at least five days before the
local board of review meeting.
The local board of review may not
reduce the total or aggregate amount of
the county assessor's assessment by more
than one percent. This means that the
325
HANDBOOK FOR MINNESOTA CITIES
board must often Compensate for reduc-
tions in assessed values by making
comparable increases in assessments
against other parcels of property.
After the final adjournment of the. board
of review, the city assessor may make
additional assessments, but the board
cannot make furthe~ review. Complaints
on these later assessments can ~o to the
county board of equalization.
COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
The county board of equalization con-
sists of either the county auditor and the
county commissioners, or a special board
of equaltz, atJon that the auditor and the
board of county commissioners ap-
points? The statutes establish meeting
dates.
Although the county board of equaliza-
Uon may decrease and, after notice to the
taxpayer, increase individual valuations,
its primary task is to equ:~llze the ratio
between market value and assessed
market value in the various districts. Its
main purpose is to secure uniformity of
assessed value from district to district
with only occasional attention to unifor-
mity between taxpayers within any one
district. It may not reduce the aggregate
valuations of either real or personal
property in the county below the amounts
the assessors have determined, but it may
increase these amounts.
Upon the property owner's application,
the board may change a property's home-
stead classification or reduce its market
value, reducing or refunding any taxes the
person has already pald.~
STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION
The commissioner of revenue acts as the
state board of equalizaUon.39 The
commissioner's primary assessment task
is to assure uniformity of valuations
between counties. The commissioner may
adjust valuations between districts and
between classes of property. The commis-
sioner may raise or lower lndividu,--d
assessments, but may increase individual
assessments only after the taxpayer has
received notice and has had an opportu-
nity to be heard. The commissioner may
not reduce the aggregate value of all
property in the state by more than one
percent below the total the county boards
of equalization have reported. The com-
missioner may order a reassessment of
property in any district.
APPEALS TO TAX COURT
The tax court is the final authority for
the hearing and determination of all
questions under the property tax laws of
the state, except for an appeal to the
Supreme Court.~° The tax court has
Jurisdiction in cases dealing with property
taxes only after the taxpayer has appealed
the valuation or assessment to the town
or city board of review and to the county
board of equalization, except for those
taxpayers whose original assessments
came from the commissioner of revenue.
The tax court has no Jurisdiction Involv-
ing an order of the state board of equaliza-
tion unless a taxpayer contests the valua-
tion of the property.
The tax court must hold hearings at any
place in the state so that taxpayers may
appear before the court with as little
inconvenience and expense to the tax-
payer as possible.
The small claims division of the tax
court has Jurisdiction in any case con-
cerning the valuation, assessment, or
taxation of residential property the tax-
payer has homesteaded. It also hears
cases concerning the tax laws in which
the amount in controversy does not
exceed $5,000, including penalties and
interest?
The notice that goes to the taxpayer of
the assessment, determination, or order of
the commissioner or the appropriate unit
of government, should include written
noUcc that thc taxpayer has thc right to
appeal to the tax court, and ff applicable,
to the small claims division. The notice
must state that the taxpayer must appeal
to the town or city board of equalization
and to the county board of equalization
before appealing to the small claims
division of the tax court, except in those
cases where the commissioner of revenue
determined the assessment.4~
Other taxes
As mentioned earlier, the Legislature
has granted clues authority to Impose
some utility taxes and taxes on lodging,
as well as special sales taxes for some
cities. These are discussed more fully in
the League's Preparing City Budgets
memo.
326
Cit~' ~,f Elk Ki,.,er
i3563 O~er:9 ?kwy PO Bo; 290
Elk River. 2v~ 55530
De~ Ciw of Elk R~vgr,
Sherburne County
ASSESSOR I
TYRUS L. BISCHOFF, S.A.M.A.
~,:.E: .,.,o,.., ,:, oC,ARD OF EQUALIZATION DATE AND TIME
: have te,,tative!v ~¢t yoz4 ,ocal Board of Equalization meeting .tb~ April 30, 1.996 at 6:00 P.M.
Please conw..cr mx' office as soon as possible if this date conflicts wit.h your scked,',_ie se ! can re-
sc:,~-~duie an ~tcmate date. 'ihe Department of Rev:hue requires a copy cf*he !ocai Board of Rev:ow
i.,cocee4J:~gs witJ~Jn i0 working days of the Board of Review Meeting. You MUST provide a clerk
to take tninutes. The minutes ~;n~ tine local boards of equalization must l;c in my office vdt2fin 5
we:'Mng days so ~at we can meet the requh'ed deadline set by 0~e State of Mim~esota.
That& you for your continued cooperafivn.
7ZB:jm
P.O. Box 320
Elk River, MN 55330
(612) 241-2860 [] 1-800-433-5246