This is Steve Sinell. Steve is the City of Eden Prairie’s official City Assessor. It is Steve’s duty to evaluate and value all taxable real estate within the City of Eden Prairie. It is not part of Steve’s job to raise your taxes. I think that bears repeating: the City Assessor does not raise your taxes.
The City Assessor values your real estate. In fact, State Statutes in Minnesota say that the City Assessor shall value properties within 95% of their current market value. That’s the law. And that law is set by the Minnesota State Legislature, not by the local City Council or County Commission.
The taxing bodies (i.e. – City, County, School District, etc.) use the value of your real estate as the basis to distribute the burden of the property tax. The higher the value of your real estate, the higher the tax you pay. And vice-versa. The property tax is a “wealth tax”. It is based on the assumption that if you own valuable property, you can afford to pay higher taxes. I’m not trying to justify it, just explain it.
There is a common misunderstanding among the taxed (of which I am one) that the City determines how much it wants to spend and then goes out and assesses property to raise that sum of money. That’s not the way it works. The Assessor actually starts the process by assessing the value of new properties and adjusting the value of old properties. Taxpayers are notified about these changes, and how to challenge the results. After the challenge period is exhausted, the new values are put into place.
Your taxes are actually determined by the spending decisions of the taxing bodies that can tax your property. The more they spend, the more taxes that need to be spread (i.e. – “levied”) over the entire tax base – which is just another name for the collective taxable property in the community. If spending is increased, there is a high likelihood that your taxes will increase. If spending is held stable or decreased, it’s just as likely that your taxes will decrease.
The City Assessor doesn’t have any more to say about the City budget and the City’s spending decisions than the Building Official or City Planner does. Yes, the City Assessor has several employees and a modest operating budget, but when it comes to spending decisions for the City, the buck actually stops with the City Council and me.
A top-flight City Assessor is one that attributes accurate values to the real estate in the community. Not too low, but not too high – and always based on the forces of the market, of course. A good City Assessor is one who can justify his or her work in the political and legal worlds when called upon to do that. We’ve got a top-flight City Assessor in Eden Prairie in Steve Sinell.
And remember to remember this: Steve Sinell doesn’t raise your taxes.
