Mike Mosedale has a nice piece in City Pages on Minneapolis property tax assessments (that I have to believe was inspired by the list, particularly Vicky Heller's questions).
http://www.citypages.com/databank/25/1254/article12773.asp Mike notes that the reason some "undervalued" buildings are assessed for less than their selling price is that "Unlike the average homeowners, the owners of the big commercial buildings--mainly large institutional investors--are extremely aggressive in challenging assessments. As a matter of routine, many, if not most, of these investors contest their property tax bills in the Minnesota Tax Court." There are some good examples - and it puts the blame less on the assessor's department than on litigation and the courts. Maybe our focus should turn from a "scandal" involving city employees to tort reform! David Brauer Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
