Cook County News Herald

Local Board of Appeals and Equalization Process:

Property assessment and classification for 2020 property taxes


Property owners should have received the annual valuation notice recently mailed with property tax statements. This information may affect your 2020 property taxes. Included on each Valuation Notice is information about the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization (LBAE), meetings for Townships (Schroeder, Tofte, and Lutsen) and Open Book Consultation dates for the City of Grand Marais and all other unorganized areas of the county.

These meetings are held to determine whether taxable property in the jurisdiction has been properly valued and classified by the Assessor, and to determine whether corrections need to be made. If you believe the value or classification of your property is incorrect, please contact the County Assessor’s Office to discuss your concerns.

If you are still not satisfied with the valuation or classification after discussing it with your Assessor, you may appear before the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization at the scheduled hearings. The Board reviews the valuation, classification, or both if necessary, and corrects the information if necessary. Generally, an appearance before your Local Board of Appeals and Equalization is required by law before an appeal can be taken to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization, which takes place in June.

“Last year, the assessor’s office was able to resolve 63 appeals prior to the final County Board of Appeals and Equalization Hearing and no property owners registered to appear in June,” said Cook County Assessor Todd Smith. “The assessor’s office is happy to answer any questions through our office and also encourages people to attend their local meetings if they feel something is off with their property valuation or classification.” Board of Appeals and Equalization Schedule: . Schroder Township residents will meet at Schroeder Townhall at 6 p.m. on April 9. . Tofte township residents meeting will be held April 11 at 6 p.m. at the Tofte Townhall. . Lutsen township property owners will have a meeting on April 16 at 6 p.m. held at the Lutsen Town Hall. . Grand Marais city residents will have an open book at the courthouse April 18 and April 19 from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. each day. . Unorganized territories RGE 4W, 3W, 2W, 1W, and RGE 1E through RGE 7E have an open book at the courthouse April 22-26 from 8 .m. to 4 p.m. . The Local Board of Appeal and Equalization will be held in the commissioner’s room from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on June 18, 2019.

For any questions on property assessment in Cook County, contact the Assessor’s Office at 218- 387-3650 or go to www. co.cook.mn.us > Assessor

Contact: Todd Smith, Cook County Assessor 218-387-3650 or Todd. Smith@co.cook.mn.us.

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