Fillmore County Assessor Jason McCaslin reported on the assessor’s duties and the expected significant residential valuation increases at the Chatfield City Council’s January 24 meeting. Councilors Paul Novotny and Mike Urban were absent.
McCaslin has been the assessor in Fillmore County since April 2020 and before that served in Jackson County. He grew up in Spring Valley and currently lives with his family in Chatfield.
His role as assessor is to ensure that the property tax burden is evenly distributed in each jurisdiction. With the increases in residential sales, valuations will be increased. The amount of revenue required by the city, township, school district and county will be only what each unit of government has decided is necessary to operate. The valuation increase does not necessarily mean one’s property tax will increase.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue requires valuations be maintained at a compliant level. The increase or decrease in valuations is dependent on market activity. The Median Ratio is required to be maintained between 90% and 105%. McCaslin aims for about 95%. Market activity like we have experienced in the last year can cause a valuation to increase even when no changes have been made to the property.
Because homes have sold much higher, a market adjustment will be necessary to bring the median ratio back into a compliant level. A market adjustment would also be required during a period when housing prices drop substantially.
McCaslin said the median ratio for Chatfield residential is well below compliance at 78.43%. This will require a 20% adjustment in valuations to get back into a compliant range. Chatfield is not alone. Residential valuations will need to be adjusted upward in many cities and townships across Fillmore County.
However, Chatfield’s commercial market has a median ratio above compliance at about 109.25% on two sales. Because of the small number of sales (less than six), a five year sample study is needed. There may be a slight decrease in commercial valuations in Chatfield. With the dramatic increase in residential values and the devaluation of commercial properties, the tax burden will be shifted to some degree from commercial to residential.
Seventy percent of the taxable market value in Fillmore County is agricultural. These valuations will also go up.
Valuations and classifications are sent out to property owners toward the end of March. If a property owner is concerned about his/her valuation, the first step is to call the assessor’s office to review the property and explain the valuation. If that is unsatisfactory, the owner next goes to the local board of appeal and equalization, if applicable. Next is the county board of appeal and equalization which will be held on June 14 in Fillmore County in 2022. If still unsatisfied, one can file with the tax court.
When property values go up, more revenue is not generated; the tax burden is just redistributed.
Councilor Josh Broadwater and Mayor Russ Smith both argued that last year resulted in an artificial inflation of housing values, due to overbidding of the asking price for many homes. McCaslin said they are required to do annual studies.
Julie Hackman, assistant director of the Property Records and Licensing Department in Olmsted County, was present at the meeting. She explained valuations on the Olmsted side of the city will increase at a similar rate as those on the Fillmore County side. There were nearly 60 home sales in Chatfield, slightly more on the Fillmore County side. Hackman said valuations are becoming more equitable on both sides as they are close on sales and ratios.
Fillmore County Open Book Board of Appeals will be April 18-22 at the assessor’s office.
Other business in brief
•A proposal for GIS mapping provided by Widseth Smith Nolting & Associates was approved. The estimated implementation cost is $4,700. There will be annual license fees plus hourly charges for edits/creation/analysis and planning.
•The addition of West Chatfield storm water improvements was added to the 2022 Water Project. The West Chatfield drainage improvement will involve the installation of storm sewer along Hill St. SW and Hawkeye St. SW. The proposal from Widseth includes professional design and construction administration services. The proposed scope of services is estimated to cost $25,240. The estimated project cost including engineering, administration and construction is $192,463.33.
•A bracket for the cable over Highway 52 pulled away from Jac’s building during the high wind event on December 15. Beniki Construction has submitted a quote to repair the Jac’s building for the amount of $2,500. Approval was given for the repair of the building.
Brian Burkholder also had a quote to reinstall and reinforce brackets on the buildings (Paw Print also) in the amount of $3,144 from Beniki Construction. Mayor Smith asked that it be tabled until it can be discussed at the Public Works committee. If the cable is again put up it will be with the knowledge that having a cable across the highway is in violation of state law. He asked about the city wanting the liability, and now that it is gone, should they put it back up? The cable has been used for Christmas decorations and Western Days banners.
•Kathleen Kamnetz was appointed to serve on the Library Board for three years, effective February 1.
•Chatfield Alliance is sponsoring Chill Fest to be held the first weekend in February. Approval was given for the use of city parks for events.
Leave a Reply