12-05-2022 City Council Meeting Mintues

Home Browse Search

City Council Minutes December 5, 2022 Page 3 of 9 land went up 44.6% in valuation. He stated this is healthy increase for land that is not developable He said he hears the budget levels are going up by 11-12% and theirs is up the 17.4% and he does not know what to do about that as he does not agree with the increase. He said they have owned this property since 1990 and does not agree with the valuation of the land. Discussion ensued about valuations on land. Mr. Spiczka stated land services at the County land services can explain valuations and there are meetings that they can attend with the County as well. Joel Thordson stated that according to Brent Zinda at Land Services department budgets in 49 Cities and Townships should have nothing to do with the market values. Mayor Gardner explained that the City bases the budget to what is needed and that is based on a percentage of the value but the value itself is not set by the City. Mr. Thordson stated his taxes went up 37%. Gregg Gerhartz, 27022 West Twin Lake Dr stated his taxes went up 23% and they raised the value of his house 37% which is astronomical. He stated this is based on people coming up from the cities and paying way too much for properties. He stated of the $1,000 his taxes went up $800 of that is Pequot Lakes. He said Pequot is going to chase them out and they cannot continue to absorb the taxes. He stated he is retired and he cannot continue to absorb thos increases year after year. He stated this is ridiculous. Dale Christensen, 4392 Jackpine Dr, stated his property went up 40% in valuation but the part that he objects to is the county raised its taxes on him about 5% and the City is raising taxes by 34%. He sated he lives in a rural area by County Road 29 and all services come from Nisswa. He stated that he gets no benefit from being in the City of Pequot Lakes and does not see the advantage of being in the City. Mr. Thordson requested his letter and Mr. Weiblen's letter be read. Mayor Gardner read the letters. The Council acknowledged they have copies of the letters. Pamela Johnson, 3830 Wildlife Trail, stated she agreed with Mr. Czech's changes and if county assessments are every five years maybe it is not the best year to add a 21% tax levy increase. She said she understands the City does not have control over valuations but they have control over the levy and suggested the City does smaller increases over time. She stated she hopes the City can make adjustments which will help those on fixed incomes and such. Shirlyn Bentley, 27509 County Rd 107, said her taxes for the City has gone up $500 for the year and that is steep for her. Mr. Spiczka state the percentage increases are not consistent throughout the City and the percentage that is taxes on a property is based partly on the market value of a home.