Laserfiche WebLink
City of Centerville <br />Authority of the Local Board of Equalization <br />Assessments of property are made to provide the means for the measuring of <br />the relative share of each taxpayer in the meeting of the costs of local <br />government. It is the duty of the Assessor to assess all real and personal <br />property except that which is exempt or taxable under some special method of <br />taxation. If the burden of local government is to be fairly and justly shared <br />among the owners of all property of value, it is necessary that all taxable <br />property be listed on the tax rolls and that all assessments be made accurately. <br />Whenever any property that should be assessed is omitted from the tax rolls, an <br />unfair burden falls upon the owners of all property that has been assessed. If <br />any property is undervalued in relation to the other property on the assessment <br />record, the owners of the other property are called upon automatically to <br />assume part of the tax burden that should be borne by the undervalued <br />property. Fairness and justice in property taxation demands both completeness <br />and equality in assessment. <br />Minnesota Statutes Section 274.01 provides that the council of each city shall <br />be or appoint a Board of Appeal and Equalization. The charter of certain cities <br />provides for the establishment of a Board of Equalization. The provisions of <br />Section 274.01 and this regulation apply to all Boards of Appeal or Boards of <br />Equalization. <br />The 2003 Legislature enacted State Statute 274.014 which requires that there <br />be at least one member at each meeting of a Local Board of Appeal and <br />Equalization (beginning with the 2006 local boards) who has attended an <br />appeals and equalization course developed or approved by the Commissioner <br />of Revenue within the last four years. (The member must attend the course by <br />no later than January 1, 2006.) Mayor Mary Capra as well as Councilmembers <br />Ben Fehrenbacher and Jeff Paar, have met this requirement for the City of <br />Centerville. <br />Section 274.01 states the county assessor shall fix a date for each Board of <br />Appeal and Equalization to meet for the purpose of reviewing the assessment of <br />property in its respective town or city. The county assessor is required to serve <br />written notice to the clerk of each of such bodies on or before February 15th of <br />each year. <br />These meetings are required to be held between April 1st and May 31st; and the <br />clerk of the Board of Appeal and Equalization is required to give published and <br />posted notice at least ten days before the date set for the first meeting. <br />The Board of Appeal and Equalization of any city, unless a longer period is <br />approved by the Commissioner of Revenue, must complete its work and adjourn <br />within twenty days (20) from the time of convening specified in the notice of the <br />clerk. No action taken subseauent to such date shall be valid. <br />A request for additional time in order to complete the work of the Board of <br />Appeal and Equalization must be addressed to the Commissioner of Revenue in <br />writing. The Commissioner's approval is necessary to legalize any procedure <br />subsequent to the expiration of the twenty-day period. The Commissioner of <br />7 <br />