County Administrator Bobbie Hillery swore in members for the Fillmore County Board of Appeal and Equalization at the June 13 meeting. Members included the five county commissioners and Auditor/Treasurer Heather Broadwater.
County Assessor Jason McCaslin gave an overview of changes for the 2023 assessment. He noted he appealed a calculation of 12.5% inflation for residential properties by the Department of Revenue (DOR) and successfully got this trend reduced to 0%. The DOR also calculated 17% inflation for agricultural properties. Most counties in southeast Minnesota are trending similar to Fillmore County.
The assessor’s office is obligated to maintain a Median Sales Ration at a compliant level (90%-105%) where there are six or more sales in a jurisdiction.
There has been significant inflation of tillable agricultural properties; a 30% increase has been applied to tillable land values across the county to bring the Median Ratio into compliance. Timber values increased from $3,800 to $4,300 per acre. The Median sale price was $4,958 per acre for timber properties.
The commercial/industrial ratio was at 70.63%. Two areas were selected as areas that were causing ratios to be far below compliance. Adjustments were made in the northern commercial/industrial district of Spring Valley and the city of Mabel to get this classification into compliance.
McCaslin suggested this may be the last year of large adjustments. Many jurisdictions are experiencing stabilization in market activity.
Appeals
Three appellants were not present; no action was taken on their appeals. Three appellants presented their arguments in person for an adjustment to their valuations. Each property owner was given uninterrupted time to explain their objection to their valuations.
Steven Bushman, Jordan Township, disagreed with the valuation on three continuous parcels of woods. He insisted “woods are not woods.” He said his property is not salable as buildable because it is less than 80 acres and Jordan Township requires 80 acres to be buildable. Also, it will be 40 years before the woods will be at a point to be harvested; his wooded land is in the growth period. Bushman purchased the woods after it was harvested. Once the woods are logged, it takes work to clean them up and make them marketable.
Bushman believes wooded land should be classified as to whether it is marketable vs non-marketable and if it is buildable vs non-buildable. He believes more study is needed; just asking for fairness.
Property appraiser Andy Hillery said the price per acre is still rising for wood land. McCaslin said there is a large discrepancy in sale prices among wooded properties. The lowest sale in this year’s study was $4,100 per acre with a median of $4,300 per acre. The board voted to leave the Bushman’s valuation at the median price of $4,300 per acre.
Bradley Thatcher, 55 First Ave. SW in Harmony, reviewed the appeal process including going to the local board of equalization on April 11. Their home was built in 1991 and has not been updated since. He and his wife argued that their home value is depressed due to the blighted and nuisance properties that border theirs. They produced numerous photos of neighboring properties.
Appraiser Justin Kraling produced two nearby sales where the price per square foot was higher than the assessed price per square foot in the Thatcher valuation. The requested adjustment to keep the valuation at last year’s level was denied based on sales per square foot in the neighborhood being higher than this year’s valuation of Thatcher’s property.
Carol Kohn, Bloomfield Township, questioned the valuation of 40 acres of tillable agricultural land. She said 8-10 acres out of the 40 acres is rocky with shallow soil. The 40 was rated as “A” soil, she suggested that a portion is more “C” or “D” soil. The county valuation of “C” tillable is $7,540 or about $2,500 less than “A” tillable.
McCaslin referred to the soil layers map. He questioned whether it recognizes depth of soil accurately. Duane Bakke noted her valuation increased about 55% on that acreage. Tillable Ag land valuations increased 30% in the county.
Andy Hillery explained there had been a previous adjustment on this acreage in 2016 where about 26 acres out of the 40 was rated “B” tillable. So, the larger increase was due to the earlier decrease. Kohn maintained the physical soil over limestone has not changed.
Randy Dahl said he could see about 10 acres being valued as “B” tillable. The county valuation of “A” tillable is $10,010 and “B” tillable is $9,360 per acre. Andy Hillery asked if you should you value land differently in a 40-acre field because of a wet spot or a rocky spot. The average rating of this 40 was 95 CPI (Crop Productivity Index). CPI is a rating based on physical and chemical properties of the soils. A motion was made to leave the valuation unchanged. Dahl voted against.
Justin Kraling asked the board to consider the assessor’s recommendation after appeal on a residential property in Preston. The property owners provided proof of hardship, a medical emergency out of state which kept them from going to the local board. Kraling did a reassessment of the property including the interior of the home and recommended a reduction in the valuation of the property. The valuation was reduced a little more than $35,000 as recommended by the assessor.
There was a lot of interesting discussion with each of the appeals. However, Bakke noted appellants usually bring documents showing sales to support their appeal or appraisals of properties in the area. Mitch Lentz commented that he liked that the same tools are now being used consistently across the county.
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