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After reading last week’s article on Cook County property valuations, I wanted to write in about our experience. We received our proposed tax statement in November, post-dated November 18th. Upon seeing our tax increase, I looked at the date of the meeting, and it had passed already, on November 29th. Eleven days notice seemed insufficient to me.
For reference, our property is a commercial/residential property on which we operate a storefront business. Regardless, our taxes this year increased by 85 percent. The two major increases were the Cook County general tax which increased by 559 percent, and the State general tax which increased by 1053 percent. Our actual property value increased by 141 percent.
My husband called both the assessor and Representative Skraba to discuss things. There did not seem to be many options, although they did discuss Limited Market Value, which would limit the annual increase of property values to somewhere around 20 percent (to give perspective on the current increases). There is a very interesting report from the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1998 on the use of this tactic.
My husband was told that “hundreds” of people requested an adjustment of their assessed value in 2022, with less than five being granted an adjustment. In an average year, he was told, only a handful of people would be applying for an adjustment. So, while I will be paying close attention to the valuation this year, it does not seem like it will do much good.
My questions are, what will this trend do to the residents of Cook County? Doesn’t it seem like there will be negative and perhaps dire consequences from these types of increases? Is there anything that can be done, and is anyone talking about how to do it?
Thank You,
Elli King, Lutsen Recreation, Inc.
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