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It's been talked about many times among Polk County commissioners and likely at a few other Minnesota counties' meetings as well. The issue: who should be responsible for tax-forfeited properties, the key word being “should,” not “is.”
We already know that counties are responsible for these properties according to state statute. The intent of this part of the state's tax law, which has been on the books for a long time, was probably to simplify things by giving one government entity both the burden of collecting taxes and the ability to enforce collection by becoming the new owner once the owner gets so far in debt on the tax bill.
Just because it's simplified and on the books doesn't necessarily make it equitable, though. This current system puts undue burden on counties, which has been made very apparent in Polk County with such commercial structures as the former Palace/Wayne Hotel and Z Place buildings, with others possibly on the horizon, going into tax forfeiture. That the bulk of these are located in Crookston puts the issue even more on the county's radar, especially with the three commissioners who do not cover parts of Crookston.
The price-tag of dealing with these large buildings, whether they have historical significance or not and whether demolition or preservation is in the cards, is high, as people are well aware. Something has to be done, though – these buildings can't just sit around indefinitely and be left to weather the elements. This only serves to turn them into eyesores and sometimes public hazards.
So as the law stands now, counties are stuck with tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fork out for work these properties that were abandoned by their previous owners. Although the city or township in which they're located collected their share of taxes on these buildings and lots for years, once they're in tax forfeiture, their responsibility ends.
As county officials and Crookston City Administrator Aaron Parrish discussed this week, something needs to be done at the state legislature to cushion the blow to counties. First and foremost, the previous owners should be held financially responsible. The county should be able to obtain court judgements against those owners who let their dilapidated buildings become more so and be absorbed by the county while they move on to bigger ventures that further pad their deep pockets.
Secondly, the cities and townships in which the properties are located should be required to share in the financial burden. This way, taxpayers in, say, East Grand Forks won't have to pay the full bill for something being demolished 70 miles away in Fosston.
Legislators constantly say they are trying to make taxes fair to the people in the state. While this would not impact taxpayers individually, it would spread the pain more equitably, something that eventually trickles down to the taxpayer.
In this case, maybe the tax law needs to be just a little more complicated.
It's been talked about many times among Polk County commissioners and likely at a few other Minnesota counties' meetings as well. The issue: who should be responsible for tax-forfeited properties, the key word being “should,” not “is.”
We already know that counties are responsible for these properties according to state statute. The intent of this part of the state's tax law, which has been on the books for a long time, was probably to simplify things by giving one government entity both the burden of collecting taxes and the ability to enforce collection by becoming the new owner once the owner gets so far in debt on the tax bill.
Just because it's simplified and on the books doesn't necessarily make it equitable, though. This current system puts undue burden on counties, which has been made very apparent in Polk County with such commercial structures as the former Palace/Wayne Hotel and Z Place buildings, with others possibly on the horizon, going into tax forfeiture. That the bulk of these are located in Crookston puts the issue even more on the county's radar, especially with the three commissioners who do not cover parts of Crookston.
The price-tag of dealing with these large buildings, whether they have historical significance or not and whether demolition or preservation is in the cards, is high, as people are well aware. Something has to be done, though – these buildings can't just sit around indefinitely and be left to weather the elements. This only serves to turn them into eyesores and sometimes public hazards.
So as the law stands now, counties are stuck with tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to fork out for work these properties that were abandoned by their previous owners. Although the city or township in which they're located collected their share of taxes on these buildings and lots for years, once they're in tax forfeiture, their responsibility ends.
As county officials and Crookston City Administrator Aaron Parrish discussed this week, something needs to be done at the state legislature to cushion the blow to counties. First and foremost, the previous owners should be held financially responsible. The county should be able to obtain court judgements against those owners who let their dilapidated buildings become more so and be absorbed by the county while they move on to bigger ventures that further pad their deep pockets.
Secondly, the cities and townships in which the properties are located should be required to share in the financial burden. This way, taxpayers in, say, East Grand Forks won't have to pay the full bill for something being demolished 70 miles away in Fosston.
Legislators constantly say they are trying to make taxes fair to the people in the state. While this would not impact taxpayers individually, it would spread the pain more equitably, something that eventually trickles down to the taxpayer.
In this case, maybe the tax law needs to be just a little more complicated.
