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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br />COUNCIL MEETING <br />FEB 26 2000 <br />CITY Qt ORONQ <br />DATE: February 24,2000 <br />ITEM NO: / 5^ <br />Department Approval: <br />Name Ron Moorse <br />Title City Administrator <br />Administrator Reviewed:Agenda Section: <br />City Administrator’s <br />Report <br />Item Description: Extension of Property Assessment Service Contract with the Hennepin <br />County Assessor’s Office <br />In mid-1998, Rolf Erickson indicated he would no longer be able to provide assessment services to <br />the cities of Orono and Shorewood due to his firm’s inability to retain qualified staff. At that time, <br />both Orono and Shorewood requested proposals from private assessing firms for the provision of <br />property assessment services. Both cities invited the firms to submit proposals to serve one or both <br />of Ae cities. The city of Orono received only one proposal. The cities then approached the <br />Heimepin County Assessor’s Office about providing the service. The Hennepin County Assessor’s <br />Office provides assessment services to sixteen cities in Hennepin County, including Independence, <br />Minnetrista, Mound, Spring Park and Tonka Bay. <br />The Orono and Shorewood City Councils met jointly to discuss the Hennepin County option. <br />Hennepin County proposed a four-year agreement. The cities proposed an initial two-year <br />agreement, with a provision for a four-year extension. The two-year agreement expires July 31, <br />2000. The agreement may be extended for a term of four (4) years by the City providing written <br />notice to so extend 150 days prior to the expiration date. <br />The Hennepin County Assessor’s Office has invested a very large amount of time and effort to get <br />Orono’s property records organized, updated and entered into their property assessment system. <br />They have done a very good job with the revaluations. They worked with a large number of property <br />owners with large valuation increases for taxes payable 1999 to explain the increases, which limited <br />the number of property owners who attended the Board of Review meeting. <br />Staff Recommendation <br />Based on the work of the Hennepin County Assessor’s Office over the past two years, staff <br />recommends extending the contract for property assessment services for a four-year period. <br />COUNCIL ACTION REQUESTED: <br />Motion to approve the extension of the contract with the Hennepin County Assessor’s Office for <br />property assessment services for a four-year period ending on July 31, 2004.