2. Abatements/Wal-Mart, Sam's - Laserfiche WebLink

INVESTIGATION OF ABATEMENT APPLICATION ABATEMENT NO. 4224 Following is a report on the investigation of the abatement application of: Wal-Mart Cass County Board of Commissioners and State Tax Comntisaioner: The applicant is asking that the valuation be reduced fi-om $5,940,000 to $5,121,000 for the year 2002 on their property located at 4731 13th Av South, Fargo. The requested reduction is about 14%. Wal-Mart has submitted an income summary report to support their claim. The City of Fargo recommended denial of the abatement application. I inspected the property and reviewed the information that was supplied by the applicant and the City of Fargo Assessment Office. I reviewed the applicant's income valuation summary. They estimated the economic rent at $5.25 per square foot based upon a total square footage of 114,085 square feet. Thc taxpayer used a 5% vacancy factor, along with a 10% operating expense factor. Further, they used a 10% capitalization rate to arrive at the valuation of the property. Wal-Mart did not submit any infomnafion on how these numbers were arrived at. These numbers are quite subjective without documentation. Small errors in the estimated rant, vacancy factor, operating expense factor and capitalization rate can drastically change the valuation conclusion. It also appears that the square footage of the building is understated. A 4,556 sq. ft. addition that was built in 1998 may not have been included in the total area. Also, there is no mention of the enclosed and open garden center area. The City of Fargo has supplied a report that includes ixfformation in regards to leases, costs and sales of properties. The City of Fargo has also submitted information indicating that the property is fairly assessed with other large retail stores. I've also enclosed a list of assessments of the Wal-Mart stores in Bismarck, Minor and Grand Forks. The assessmcnts are very similar to each other. It is my recommendation to deny the abatement. The taxpayer bas not provided information showing that the assessment is invalid, inequitable, or unjust. SUGGESTED MOTION: "I move that Abatement g4224 be denied, as recommended by the City of Fargo and the Director of Equalization." Dated this 27t~ day of September, 2002. Frank Klein Cass County Director of Tax Equalization