04-26-2000 Council Minutes Board of Review

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• MINUTES OF THE ORONO BOARD OF REVIEW MEETING Wednesday, April 26, 2000 7:00 o'clock p.m. ROLL The Orono Board of Review met on the above date with the following members present: Mayor Gabriel Jabbour, Council Members Richard Flint, Barbara Peterson, Charles Kelley, and Bob Sansevere. The following represented City Staff: City Administrator Ron Moorse, Hennepin County Appraiser Kim Jensen, Hennepin County Senior Appraiser William Davy, and Recorder Jackie Young. Mayor Jabbour called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. Mayor Jabbour explained the Board of Review process, noting that the City will listen to the comments of the residents regarding their evaluation, request that the assessor visit the property, followed by another Board of Review meeting. Davy commented this is the second year Hennepin County has been employed as the assessor for Orono. Davy remarked there is a tremendous demand for land in this area and west of here, • which is pushing land values up in this area. Davy stated the values are arrived at by studying the market and doing market ratio studies of sales throughout Orono. Of the 2,700 approximate residential homes in Orono, there were 132 sales in the past year, which is approximately 4.6 percent of the homes. Those sales are then analyzed, with the sale prices being compared with what their values were set at for the 1999 valuation. Davy stated that this comparison enables Hennepin County to determine where they are at in terms of valuation and the fair market value of the homes in this area. Davy stated each year they physically visit one -fourth of the City, with the values being adjusted based on the sales of the previous year. Davy stated they have received approximately 140 phone calls regarding their values, with a portion of those properties being reviewed prior to tonight's meeting. If a property owner is dissatisfied with their valuation, they have the right to appeal to the Board of Review at the City level. By appealing to the Board, the assessor will review the information on file regarding the property. The property owner may request that the assessor visit the property and provide information on how that valuation is obtained. After reviewing the property, the assessor brings his findings back to the City Council for their approval and the property owner may appear at the reconvened Board of Review if he is still dissatisfied with the valuation assigned to the property. Mayor Jabbour indicated that the assessor is required by law to assess property fairly according to the market value, with the City of Orono being penalized if the assessed property values are not within the range of actual sales in the City. Jabbour explained the City of Orono receives the same • amount of money regardless of the value set on each individual home. Jabbour noted the City does