You will have recently received two notices from Cook County. The first is your 2016 Valuation Notice from the County Assessor’s Office and the second is your 2016 Property Tax Statement from the County Auditor’s Office. People often have questions about the information about their taxes and other information included in these notices.
Your 2016 property taxes are based on a formula that uses the 2015 valuation of your property and the final levy that the county board, local governmental unit, school district and other taxing entities established in 2015.
Likewise, the 2016 valuation will be used to calculate your taxes payable in 2017.
Equalization is the main function of the County Assessor’s Office and this has to do with the classification and valuation of properties within the county based upon standards set by the Minnesota Department of Revenue.
Assessments or the Estimated Market Value (EMV) are determined by the Assessor’s Office without regard to tax rates. The EMV is determined by physically viewing property and determining the classification according to use and considering sales of nearby properties.
The current Valuation Notice represents the 2016 Assessment for Taxes Payable in 2017.
It is understandable that we are all concerned about our assessment and we urge everyone to look at the Notice of Valuation very carefully. If you have concerns about your valuation look at: 1) Did the assessed value (EMV) change from last year? 2) Has the classification of the property changed? 3) Remember, sales of nearby properties, which are used to determine value can be as much as 18 months prior to current market values.
If you still have questions, we urge you to call the Assessor’s Office. On the back of your Valuation Notice will be the time and date of the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting at which time you may appeal your value or classification.
You must contact the Assessor’s Office by the date indicated to appeal your value. You may make an appeal in person, by letter, or have someone else appear for you. If after talking to or meeting with Assessor Office personnel you do not yet agree with the assessment, you may appeal at the County Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting scheduled in June.
The MN Department of Revenue provides additional resources related to property tax information www.revenue.state.mn.us/propertytax/Pages/Programs.aspx. If you are wondering how we compare to other Minnesota counties you can use this calculator smartasset.com/taxes/minnesota-property-tax-calculator.
County Administrator Jeff Cadwell
Grand Marais
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