At 6:50 PM -0600 11/18/10, John Ferman wrote:
>Our Kingfield Neighborhood property tax increases are as follows:
>
John's assumption, that estimates of property values are done on a
neighborhood basis in Minneapolis, is false.
Based on my experience comparing values in Como over several tax
"seasons," I can say categorically that valuations are by individual
properties and then at most by small sets of city blocks or streets.
Estimated values are based very heavily on comparables (recent
non-foreclosure sales), and few neighborhoods have totally-comparable
properties throughout.
So, John is doing no more than what several others have done in the
original thread (which John insists on breaking, every time he posts,
for some incomprehensible reason): saying only what his property
value and proposed taxes will be.
From that, he builds a conspiracy. I'm not buying it. In my
experience of challenging my property's estimated market value with
the city assessor's office, I find the people there to be highly
professional and quite specific about the basis on which they make an
assessment. They follow the law. They're eager to discuss with you
how they make evaluations and to correct a valuation if you make a
strong case. They take tons of heat that would be better addressed to
the state legislature (when are people going to understand how our
city's reps to the legislature have sold us down the river on
taxation, not necessarily the mayor and council?). Assessors are
sometimes man-handled for making quick and correct market-value
assessments that the Republican Dept. of Revenue doesn't like (see
the Nokomis and Southeast Minneapolis neighborhoods' valuations of
several years ago that the state dictated be increased by state fiat,
over the heads of our city assessor).
It's the legislature that is thinking, today, of forcing Minneapolis
to use its little sales tax or whatever that suppports the Convention
Center to pay for a new Vikings stadium. (That little tidbit was in
yesterday's Star Tribune where state GOP leaders were interviewed
about their plans.) That way, the GOP and Democrats who think like
them can continue to say--as with our state-forced increased property
taxes in Minneapolis--that *they* are not raising any state taxes,
the city is raising property taxes without reason. And those
legislators want us all to protest mightily against city property
taxes--especially those of us who might be fairly well off (anyone
paying more than $6000 annually in Minneapolis property taxes on
their residence, as one of our posters indicated she does, is. . .
fairly well off, in my book.)
Connie Sullivan
Como, in Southeast Minneapolis