A few points and questions in response to Mr. Rice's last post..... 1. My City assessor told me that the taxable market value in Minneapolis is required to be within 95 per cent of actual market value. His name is Patrick Todd.
2. The two appraisals you refer to should be accessible to the public. Most appraisers determine a building's value based on the income that it will generate. Alternatively, they would use "comparables." Where might we find these two appraisals? 3. I called an accountant at one of the largest commercial brokers and managers in Minneapolis. I found out that operating expenses for buildings similar to the Moore building are between $5.00 and $7.50 per square foot (excluding real estate taxes.) This means that at a minimum, the Park Board would be spending $375,000 per year for operations in addition to debt service. 4. Rents are going down, not up. Vacancies abound. Did anyone try to negotiate a more favorable rent with the Park Board's current landlord? $100,000 each year could be easily be saved just by letting employees pay for their own parking - like the rest of us have to. 5. The building needs extensive upgrades. How much does the Park Board intend to spend on rehab and where will that money come from? 6. The City will lose property tax receipts of approximately $100,000 each year. If the property is really worth more than $2.3 million, we will lose MORE in tax receipts. 7. Mayor Rybak made it clear that the Park Board shares the same checkbook with the rest of our City government. No matter how you rationalize this proposed purchase, you are INCREASING DEBT, INCREASING COSTS, and REDUCING THE TAX BASE. Vicky Heller Cedar-Riverside (Work) North Oaks (Home) _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
