06-02-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commission Minutes--June 2, 2003 2598 Mr. Klein said Mr. Iwen did attend the township board of equalization meeting this year. The township decided there was no disparity in the valuation and no action was taken. He said the local assessor and township board did not recommend any adjustment on this property. He believes this is more of a water management issue than anything, and said the valuation on this property has not changed since Mr. Iwen was the township assessor. He said there seems to be a communication problem between Mr. Iwen and the water board, and possibly with the township also. The water board has indicated they would do some things to help improve the situation, and they would expect Mr. Iwen to also do some things to help himself, however, nothing has changed in the times Mr. Iwen has attended board meetings. Mr. Wagner informed Mr. Iwen that he needs to work with the water resource district on his drainage concerns. Mr. Bennett said it appears there is a problem here that needs to be addressed and wondered if the county engineer should be involved. Mr. Iwen said this goes back to late 1998 or early 1999, when his application for an abatement of taxes was denied until it could be shown that the problem could not be corrected. He said the problem has not been corrected, however, Mr. Meyer said he met with Mr. Iwen, Frank Klein, County Engineer Keith Berndt, and the water board engineer, Jeff Volk, after the abatement was denied. Mr. Iwen has not followed suggestions to help correct his situation. Mr. Meyer said he reviewed Mr. Iwen's situation on numerous other occasions, and Mrs. Sorum also said she tried to help Mr. Iwen when she had the highway department and water board portfolios. Mr. Meyer and Mrs. Sorum both said they would attend a future water board meeting with Mr. Iwen to help him understand what he needs to do to correct his drainage issues. Mr. Iwen wondered when that meeting would be, and Mr. Meyer said the meeting would need to be scheduled by the water board. Mr. Iwen asked if Mrs. Sorum would come out and look at his drainage situation, and she said she would be willing to do that. Mr. Wagner said two commissioners will work with Mr. Iwen to take this matter back to the water resource board. No action was taken on Mr. Iwen's tax equalization appeal. Mr. Wagner asked if there are any other individual appeals and hearing none, moved on to the equalization of cities and townships. Mr. Klein said his recommendation for increasing valuations in various cities and townships is warranted in order to equalize assessments. He said all cities and townships were notified of his recommendation to the county board. Edward McConnell, Mayor of the City of Casselton, was present and said homes are selling well in his community and he appreciates the increase in the tax base so he does not disagree with Mr. Klein's recommendation. He did, however, suggest an increase of 4% this year and 3% next year instead of 7% at one time. He said values have been increasing 2- 5% each year for the last number of years, and he believes the state board of equalization would not argue about a 7% increase over two years. Mr. Klein said he understands Mayor McConnell's concerns, however, the Casselton city assessor did not increase values last year, and probably should have had a 3% increase. He said it is difficult to catch up if you get behind one year because the market keeps escalating. Casselton is a good-sized city and has an impact on the county's sales ratio. The county is required by law to treat everyone equitably and fairly, and he stands by his recommendation to increase the City of Casselton by 7% this year. He said he looks at each city and township on an individual basis, and some jurisdictions are constantly adjusting their values with the market.