The Cook County Assessor’s Office is in the process of finalizing the January 2019 assessment for taxes payable in 2020. The yellow valuation notices that taxpayers received with their tax statements this spring indicate the assessment work that was completed within the City of Grand Marais this past year.
As part of the ongoing effort to comply with the Department of Revenue (DOR) standards, the Assessor’s Office must physically view all properties once every five years, which means that we will see all improved properties every five years. Each year is called a “quintile” and we are now in compliance with the DOR and have updated all of the property records in Cook County.
Why is assessment required?
Minnesota has an “ad valorem” property tax system which means “at market.” This means that the county assessor must value all properties at or near the actual market value, each year. This, of course, is accomplished on a mass basis, as the assessors couldn’t possibly review every property, every year. In other words, the assessor attempts to value all properties based on what is happening in the current market.
As most people are now aware, the real estate market in Cook County can be described as very good. We have had more than 350 sales in the county for both 2017 and 2018, and 2019 has already shown potential for a record number of sales. These sales help us to determine how the market is changing. All of the sales are researched and used to define the amount of market increase or decrease. This change in value will usually appear on the next assessment date. (January 2 of each year.)
What does this mean for taxes?
Taxes are largely based on the budgetary needs of any taxing jurisdiction. The assessed value of your property helps define how much of a piece of the tax pie is yours. It is the responsibility of the assessor to value and classify all properties at their market value so that you don’t pay any more or any less than your fair share.
The assessed value is the beginning basis of the property tax calculation that you see every spring when you receive your tax statement. The other part of the formula is the classification of your property which then determines at what rate your taxes are calculated. There are approximately 55 different classification rates in the Minnesota property tax system.
What has changed in recent assessments?
There have been many changes in both valuation and classification of property in the past five years in Cook County. Some of the major changes that took place were to those properties that are being used as Vacation Rentals. These were identified and changed from Seasonal Recreational Class to Residential Non- Homestead Class.
The Assessor’s Office determined that they no longer met the seasonal classification description because they are income-producing properties (however small the income) and were better described as residential use under state statutes. This created a shift in how tax dollars are distributed between the county and the state.
What’s next for the Assessor’s Office?
We will be reviewing all of the Hovland area this year, starting at Kelly’s Hill to the Reservation River and between Lake Superior and McFarland Lake. Notices were sent to all property owners in the Hovland area this spring with the tax statements. The notices were 1/3 page and orange in color, stating that the Assessor’s Office will be reviewing their property this summer and encouraged owners to call and schedule an interior review.
Interior reviews are optional but do help us gather all of the information on properties creating a better overall assessment. This is the same type of information gathering that an independent fee appraiser would document when the owner buys a property with a new mortgage or has a re-finance mortgage on the property.
For any questions, feel free to contact the County Assessor’s Office, located in in the Cook County Court House at 411 W. Second St., Grand Marais or by phone @218-387- 3650, or email at assessor@ co.cook.mn.us.
County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.
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