January 5, 2012 - LOW County Assessor Mary Jo Otten

Attdendance: Dave, Ann, Chris, Phil T., Reed, Tammie, Jack, Ralph, Gloria Ann, Marty, Jaime and Guest Mary Jo Otten

In Conversation: The Baudette Rotary Club will be hosting a fundraiser before the ECFE Circus on January 10. BBQ, Hot Dogs, chips, pickels, beans and juice. This will be a free will offering to raise funds for the back pack program. Volunteers are needed. Phil will contact Rotary members by email with more details and Reed is checking with the kitchen staff at the school for food ordering and prep information.

Today was spare change day. If you forgot your spare change, Phil will bring the bag next week.

50/50 Draw: Reed
Happy Bucks: Almost everyone had a happy or sad buck about this warm weather we are having - Dave, Ann, Marty, Chris, Phil, Reed, Tammy, Jack, Ralph, Gloria Ann.

Program:
Mary Jo Otten is the new Lake of the Wood County Assessor. Mary Jo and her husband recently purchased a home in Baudette. Her husband is retired and spends lots of time fishing. Mary Jo has worked for the Milacs County Assessors office since 1979. She started as an office assistant and worked her way up to Deputy Assessor over the years.

Mary Jo joins Dale Boretski and Joyce Lindquist at the Lake of the Woods Assessor Office. The Assessors job is to provide a equitable evaluation and classification of property based on what is happening in the market.

Today Mary Jo talked to us about how the replacement of the state's market value homestead credit program may impact our 2012 property taxes. A document with all the detials can be found at HERE.

Before the tax change
Market value homestead credit (MVHC) - Qualifying homeowners recieve a state TAX CREDIT on their property tax bill that reduces the amount of property tax they are required to pay. The state is supposed to reimburse the local governments, including cities, counties, and school districts, for the revenue lost as a result of the credit.

After the tax change
Homestead market value exclusion (HMVE) - Qualifying Homeowners will recieve a VALUE EXCLUSION, which means that they will pay taxes on only a PORTION of their home's value. The previous credit program will be eliminated. The exclusion will reduce the overall tax base so that TAX RATES WILL HAVE TO RISE in order to bring in even the same amount of tax dollars as last year to fund city/county services.