3. Staff Report-Valuations DiscussionSCANDIA
Staff RepoVt
Date of Meeting: May 7, 2014
To: City Council
From: Kristina Handt, City Administrator
Re: Discuss Valuations with County
Background:
As was discussed at the Board of Appeal and Equalization, Scandia property owners are seeing a
significant increase in their valuations this year following a decrease last year. These wide
swings in valuations are due in part to the limited sales data the County uses to help compute
values each year. At the April Council meeting a letter to Commissioner Miron and copied to
the other commissioners, the County Assessor and the Property Records and Taxpayer Services
Director
Issue:
Can anything be done to prevent these wide swings?
Proposal Details:
A copy of the letter is included in your packets.
In addition to the staff from the County and Commissioner Miron, Scandia Assessor Frank
Langer will also be at the meeting. As described by the County, the Local Assessor, the County
Assessor, and the Department of Revenue all operate under the same rules and laws with the
County Assessor setting targets based on sales ratios, the Local Assessor determining the specific
distribution of value, and finally both the County Assessor and the Department of Revenue
evaluating the assessment to ensure the median ratio is appropriate.