Rotating the tax assessors

For the first time since the Great Depression, housing values have dropped, said Rep. Paul Marquart (DFL-Dilworth).

Marquart, who chairs the House Property Tax Relief and Local Sales Tax Division, told the division on April 4 that decreasing values add complexity to a system of property taxation that isn’t always transparent.

“There are always concerns about assessments because property tax is the only tax where the government is involved in both ends,” Marquart said. The government determines the value of a property and its tax rate, he said, whereas the amount of income that is taxed is left up to the worker.

Marquart sponsors HF4020, an attempt to shed more light on the assessing process. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in the division’s omnibus bill. There is no Senate companion.

The bill would:

• rotate assessors every five years so that a property wouldn’t have the same assessor for every appraisal;

• require assessors to let the property owner know how to access detailed information on why their house is valued at its rate; and

• allow county boards of appeal to hold informational meetings in the evenings or on Saturdays.

Opponents of the bill said the current system is fair and works well, and that the proposals would strain counties who are losing state aid and already struggling with their budgets.

Hennepin County Assessor Thomas May said his office sends assessors out to 25 cities.

“In those cities, they expect that we have some continuity of assessors,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with the expertise needed in each city.”

Proponents said the rules would ensure that property owners are getting the most information and are treated in the fairest manner possible.

“The assessors are doing a professional job and I believe the best job they can do. It’s the system that creates the problem,” Marquart said.