June 10, 2021 at 1:12 p.m.
Commissioners to lobby for causes that affect Cass County
The Legislature proposes various plans to increase and decrease program aids to counties and payments in lieu of taxes. Cass will ask that any changes take effect in 2014, so counties can plan in their budget, especially if those changes include reductions.
Administrator Robert Yochum reported Cass's request that counties be exempt from paying sales tax on costs to install the ARMER emergency radio communications equipment is in the governor's revised budget. A few of the first counties to convert to this system received an exemption, but Cass did not when it made its conversion last year.
If Cass can recoup the sales tax, it would mean about a $250,000 refund from the state.
Cass also asks that the DNR not charge counties for easements or for fees when exchanging land between the two government levels. The county will also seek leadership from the state on preventing the spread of invasive species.
On conservation easements, Assessor Mark Peterson said his statewide association wants state laws to clarify that the intent of these easements is to give a property owner an income tax benefit, but not a property tax benefit.
In other county board business Tuesday, Auditor-Treasurer Sharon Anderson reported the county continues to collect on time 97 to 98 percent of property taxes due each year.
She warned, however, that the number of past due taxpayers who are paying under a court-ordered judgment for a payment plan on past due taxes has risen. She said she anticipates some of those people will default, leading to more properties going tax forfeit than in the past.
While most years since 2000, the number of parcels published on the annual delinquent tax list has run between 700 and 900, by the time the full process takes place only a few actually go into forfeiture. The highest number of properties forfeiting actually were the 27 in 2000, 39 in 2001 and 23 in 2002. The lowest number since then was four in 2004. In 2012, there were 19 parcels forfeiting for failure to pay taxes.
Currently, most property owners have five years to catch up on delinquent taxes, Anderson said, with only a few classes such as commercial within a city having three years. She said Minnesota Association of County Officers believes the Legislature should make the time to catch up back taxes a uniform three-year window, because it is easier to find the money for three years of unpaid taxes than five years.
She also said she believes Cass's policy that past due taxes must be paid before a property can be sold helps the county maintain its overall high collections rate.
Peterson informed the board that all notices of property values being set this year to calculate taxes for next year will be mailed to property taxpayers by March 26. People who wish to contest that valuation must first attend their local Board of Review meeting at a location cited on that valuation notice. If they are not satisfied with the results, they can then appeal to the county level Board of Equalization held in June.
Property tax bills for 2013 also will be mailed to taxpayers within the next two weeks. There will be a new format, because of a new Minnesota Department of Revenue requirement.
Peterson reported the county's overall property valuation will decline from the $6,408,257,000 set in 2012 for taxes payable 2013 to $6,256,188,100 in 2013 for taxes payable in 2014.
Despite new home starts increasing from 109 in 1012 to 122 in 2013, the actual value of new construction is expected to drop about 10 percent from $35,250,100 to $31,713,500.
Central Services Director Tim Richardson obtained board approval Tuesday to join a state program to monitor the county's computer networks for security intrusions. This will save the county the $10,000 cost of replacing its old security system and will cost about the same maintenance cost as the old system did, he said.
By participating in the state system, he said that system will collect more data and has enhanced analytical capabilities to identify more problems more quickly and to fix them more quickly, he said.
The board approved sending one of the county's computer specialists to a training on how to obtain forensic information from suspects' computers for the sheriff's department. While she currently does this work, the training will enable her to learn how to find more information within suspects' computers, Richardson said.
The sheriff's sale of forfeited property will pay costs for the training, he added.
Yochum reported Leech Lake Tribal Council has approved sharing costs for joint road projects scheduled for construction this summer.
Anderson reported interest earned on county general revenue funds invested has increased the first two months this year to $168,129.51, compared with $133,491.34 earned a year ago.
Chase on the Lake of Walker donated $216 to the sheriff's boat and water program from the "Kiss the Pout' contest held during Eelpout Days.
Second publication rights after Brainerd Dispatch.
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