Property assessment disputes take left turn

Property owners recently got bright yellow mailings from Carlton County telling them what the county considers the value of their property for tax purposes in 2021.

But that doesn’t mean property owners should wait until next year to question assessed values, even as formal opportunities to do so this month are limited. The county wants calls about disputes right now.

A number of Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meetings — usually held in April — have been delayed, changed in format, or canceled entirely due to the coronavirus pandemic response.

Usually these are formal meetings run by local township supervisors or city staff in cooperation with county staff. The meetings provide an opportunity for property owners to appeal to local authorities on valuations and classifications. They are spelled out by statute and have unique requirements.

Carlton County assessor Kyle Holmes is encouraging people who don’t agree with the assessed value of a property to call his office at 218-384-9142 before any meetings occur.

“If you call us, we can take care of 98 percent of the issues before we get to the board meetings,” Holmes said. “Either we answer people’s questions so they understand what happened, or we go out and inspect and make adjustments.” Holmes said his office will often make recommendations to local boards in advance of the meetings as well.

Because of the governor’s stay-at-home order — which has been extended through May 4 — Holmes said a number of local jurisdictions are either canceling meetings and letting the county be the authority or they’re rescheduling.

Holmes said if a local authority has canceled a meeting, it turns it into an “open book” meeting — it’s essentially “open” until the County Board of Appeal and Equalization meets in June. (Refer to your yellow valuation notices to determine if your jurisdiction holds a Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting or an “open book” meeting.)

Holmes said a canceled appeal meeting means property owners should contact the assessor’s office to discuss options.

If a property owner continues to have concerns after contacting the assessor’s office, they will retain the option to appeal to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting scheduled for Monday, June 15. THey will be heard only if they have attended their local meeting first or contacted the assessor’s office.

Any jurisdiction that still plans to hold a meeting must allow for a “virtual interface” if the state emergency declaration is still in effect at the time of the meeting. This means they must have a dedicated phone line or web meeting access for the public to attend remotely.

Sixteen of Carlton County’s 34 jurisdictions usually hold appeal meetings.

Four meetings originally scheduled for next week have all been changed. Thomson Township will open its meeting at 10 a.m. Monday, April 13, and immediately recess to May 18. Twin Lakes Township and Skelton Township have both canceled their meetings, and Silver Township will hold its meeting with a call-in option (218-464-7043). Other canceled meetings as of Wednesday include Beseman, Lakeview and Perch Lake townships.

Find an updated list of the other rescheduled or canceled meetings on the county website at http://www.co.carlton.mn.us/ under the “News Flash” section on the home page. Some meeting changes are also listed in this week’s legal ads in the Pine Knot News.