City Council Workshop

Blaine City Hall City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Dr Blaine, MN 55449 Anoka County, Minnesota Minutes - Final City Council Workshop *While this is a public meeting where interested persons are welcome to attend, it is a work session for Council and staff to discuss issues before them. It is not for the purpose of receiving public input. Tuesday, March 29, 2016 6:30 PM Cloverleaf Farm Room A Board of Review NOTICE OF WORKSHOP MEETING 1 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ryan at 6:30 p.m. 2 Roll Call Quorum Present. ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Clark Arneson; City Clerk Cathy Sorensen; and Recording Secretary Linda Dahlquist. Anoka County Assessor’s Office: Assessment Compliance Coordinator Alex Guggenberger; Commercial Appraiser Dan Eischens; Residential Appraisers Ted Anderson, Ron Foster, Shawn Halligan, and Jack Purkis. Board of Review Members: Randi Erickson, Chair; Patrick Grengs, Vice Chair; Maisa Olson; Lynda Riley, Mary Wells. Present: 4 - Mayor Ryan, Councilmember Hovland, Councilmember Herbst, and Councilmember King Absent: 3 - Councilmember Swanson, Councilmember Clark, and Councilmember Bourke 3 New Business 3-1 WS 16-17 BOARD OF REVIEW MARKET DISCUSSION Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger stated there is a correction on page 12 in the Market Value Statistics section that he will forward. He gave an overview of the Median Assessed Value as it relates to the median chart that illustrates the relationship between assessed values and actual sale prices. He noted Blaine’s market values were higher than the City of Blaine Page 1 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 median. He stated the sales period was October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 except for Blaine where the assessor decided to use January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. He noted the assessor’s office reviewed 5,883 properties in 2015. He stated that during the 2015 sales period the total number of transactions increased by 1,120 or 12.60%; residential market values are up 5% and commercial market values are up 3% with 33 commercial/industrial qualified sales. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger gave an overview of the Market Value Effect of New Improvements with new construction on residential 6.3%, commercial 16.7%, and apartment 19.9% for an overall total of 8.3%. He gave an overview of the Residential Sales Ration Statistics of median ratio 93.54%, coefficient of dispersion on median 7.07%, and price related differential 1.01%. He gave an overview of Sales Study by Neighborhood, which are groupings of like properties. He gave an overview of Ratio Study by city. Councilmember Herbst commented Blaine’s growth is just under 2.8%. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied Blaine’s median is higher than the County’s. and commented the County received two years of time trends at once. Mayor Ryan commented residents are looking to downsize to single level living. Residential Appraiser Purkis commented lot values are high in Blaine. Councilmember Herbst asked if staff has received any calls regarding the upcoming Board of Review meeting. City Manager Arneson replied staff has received no calls. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger commented commercial and industrial is harder to rate. He stated the Department of Revenue will not drop the commercial/industrial from 19%. He noted there are inequities between counties. He commented the Department of Revenue is looking to develop regional time trends. Board of Review Chair Erickson asked if the county uses code star to break down rates. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied code star needs to align to industry standards. Mayor Ryan asked how tax delinquencies are handled. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied that letters are sent to property owners and the process takes three years for non-homestead and five to seven City of Blaine Page 2 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 years for homestead. Residential Appraiser Foster stated the residential appraisers go out to the properties after multiple letters are sent. Board of Review Chair Erickson asked about adjusting conservation easements. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied the County cannot adjust conservation easements. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger commented the County is changing over to a new tax system from Tyler Technologies to do tax information electronically. Councilmember Hovland asked for clarification on upgrades to properties. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied changes or add-ons in use shows up as new construction. City Manager Arneson commented 2016 will be a busy new construction year. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger stated the County received a call from a tax representative of an owner that owns multiple properties in the County. City Manager Arneson requested the County notify the City of all rental properties they discover in Blaine for follow-up with rental licensing. Board of Review Chair Erickson asked about This Old House tax exemption program. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied that program will run out in 2017 or 2018. Board of Review Chair Erickson clarified that Blaine had a quarter of the County’s sales. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied yes and that is the reason why the County has four staff members for Blaine. Board of Review Member Wells asked for clarification on the Board of Review meeting process. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger replied residents can either contact the City or County or just appear at the meeting. Board of Review Chair Erickson commented residents come unprepared to the Board of Review meeting and shared an outline that she would like to see given to those residents planning to appeal with suggested information to bring, including photographs and comparisons from Zillow. Councilmember Hovland suggested posting instructions on the City’s website for the residents to know what items to bring to the Board of Review meeting. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger commented a link to the County could be added to Blaine’s website. City of Blaine Page 3 City Council Workshop Minutes - Final March 29, 2016 Board of Review Chair Erickson commented residents could hire a realtor to bring to the meeting to help with their appeal. Councilmember Hovland commented that agriculture is categorized as tillable or untillable land to determine value. Mayor Ryan asked if there is a limit to how many values the Board of Review can change. Residential Appraiser Purkis replied no and values cannot be changed until the appraiser views the property. Councilmember Hovland commented residents are not home during the day to let the appraiser into their homes. Residential Appraiser Purkis replied he has done early morning and evening appointments and that they will work with the property owner. Assessment Compliance Coordinator Guggenberger commented tax court volume has gone down each year. He also noted that billboards in Anoka County are taxed lower than other counties. The Board of Review meeting is scheduled for April 18, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. Discussed. ADJOURN The workshop was adjourned at 7:35 p.m. City of Blaine Page 4