Stipulation of Settlement_NEZTROP 2009 Tax AppealBarry A. Lindahl, Esq. DUI~UgU6
City Attorney
Suite 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street ~
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-6944 ' ~ I
(563) 583-4113 office
(563)583-1040 fax
balesq@cityofdubuque.org 2007
Mayor and Members of the City Council
of the City of Dubuque
Cit~r Hall
13t & Central Avenue
THE CITY OF
DuB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
June 26, 2009
President of the Board of Directors
Northeast Iowa Community College
P.O. Box 400
Calmar, IA 52132
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the
Dubuque County Board of Supervisors
Dubuque County Courthouse
720 Central Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Dubuque County Hospital
Sunnycrest Manor
2375 Roosevelt Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the School Board
Dubuque Community School District
Central Administration Offices
2300 Chaney Road
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the Conference Board
of the City of Dubuque
Cit~r Hall
13t & Central
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the Council of the
Dubuque County Agricultural Extension
Service
14742 Hwy. 20 West, Suite 2
Dubuque, IA 52003
RE: NEZTROP, LLC vs. Dubuque City Board of Review - 2009 Property Tax
Protest; State of Iowa Property Assessment -Docket No. 09-104-0038
Dear Chairperson, Mayor and President:
On June 15, 2009, I sent you the enclosed letter advising that the tax appeal of Neztrop,
LLC for the 2008 property tax protest had been settled. The parties reached a
Stipulation of Settlement as to the value of the property for the January 1, 2008
assessment.
As a part of the settlement, City Assessor Richard Engelken agreed to the same value
for the January 1, 2009 assessment. At the time of my June 15, 2009 letter, however,
Neztrop, LLC had not yet filed its appeal for the 2009 assessment.
The Neztrop, LLC appeal for the 2009 assessment has now been filed.
Pursuant to the enclosed Stipulation of Settlement, the appeal for the 2009 assessment
will also be adjusted to $595,000.00.
The proposed settlement will be presented to the Property Assessment Appeal Board
after 14 days from the date indicated on the attached Notice of Voluntary Settlement. If
there are any objections to the proposed settlement, they should be made known to the
City Assessor prior to that time.
If you have any questions regarding the proposed settlement, please contact City
Assessor Richard Engelken at 563-589-7800.
V
Barry A. Lindahl, Esq.
City Attorney
BAL/tls
Enclosure
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk
Rick Engelken, City Assessor
F:\USERS\tsteckle\Lindahl\Neztrop, LLC 2009 Tax Appeal\ChairperMayorPres_Neztrop_062609.doc
Barry A. Lindahl, Esq.
City Attorney
Suite 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-6944
(563) 583-4113 office
(563)583-1040 fax
balesq@cityofdubuque.org
Mayor and Members of the City Council
of the City of Dubuque
Cit~ Hall
13t & Central Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the
Dubuque County Board of Supervisors
Dubuque County Courthouse
720 Central Avenue
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the School Board
Dubuque Community School District
Central Administration Offices
2300 Chaney Road
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the Conference Board
of the City of Dubuque
Cit~ Hall
13t & Central
Dubuque, IA 52001
Dubuque THE CITY OF
~1 DUB E
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
2007
June 15, 2009
President of the Board of Directors
Northeast Iowa Community College
P.O. Box 400
Calmar, IA 52132
Chairperson of the Board of Trustees
Dubuque County Hospital
Sunnycrest Manor
2375 Roosevelt Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
Chairperson of the Council of the
Dubuque County Agricultural Extension
Service
14742 Hwy. 20 West, Suite 2
Dubuque, IA 52003
RE: NEZTROP, L.L.C. vs. Dubuque City Board of Review - 2008 Property Tax
Protest; State of Iowa Property Assessment -Docket No. 08-104-0025
Dear Chairperson, Mayor and President:
Enclosed is a copy of a Stipulation of Settlement of a tax appeal. Iowa Code § 441.44
requires that the Stipulation of Settlement be served upon each of you.
The property that is the subject of this appeal is a vacant lot located along Highway 20
in the Stone Brook Center Subdivision. The 19.831 acre property is located between the
Portzen Construction building and Highway 20 and it has a parcel number of 15-06-227-
001.
The Dubuque City Assessor's Office placed a value of $1,308,900 on the property for
the 2008 assessed value. The 2007 assessed value was $10,600 due to the property
falling under the Three-Year Platting Rule for assessments. Upon receiving notice of the
2008 assessed value from the Dubuque City Assessor's Office, Mr. Michael Portzen,
acting on behalf of Neztrop, L.L.P., filed a petition to the Board of Review. The petition
requested that the property be classified agricultural and also claimed there was an
error in the assessment. The Board of Review denied the petition. Mr. Portzen then
appealed to the Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB).
Mr. Portzen argued that his property should be classified agricultural because an area
farmer, Daniel Frieburger, uses the property to produce hay. He further argued the
assessed value is too high because his access to Highway 20 will be shut off with the
construction of the Southwest Arterial. The property will then have poor access. Mr.
Portzen also argued that the property has been listed for sale for several years and has
had no interested purchaser for at least the past year.
Dubuque City Assessor, Richard Engelken, met with Mr. Portzen to discuss their
differences. As a result of this discussion, Mr. Engelken hired an appraisal to be done
since Mr. Engelken concluded that the assessed value of the property is probably too
high. The City Assessor's Office hired Mr. Tom Howe, in late 2008, to perform an
appraisal of the property. Mr. Howe's appraisal shows the value at $595,000 as of
January 19, 2009. Because of the significant difference between the assessed value
and the appraised value, the City Assessor's Office obtained a second appraisal from
Luksetich Appraisal Company, Ms. Mary Ellen Clark and Mr. Tom Luksetich. That
appraisal was completed April 27, 2009 and shows an appraisal value of $431,900.
On May 26, 2009 Mr. Mike Portzen, Mr. Richard Engelken and City Attorney Barry
Lindahl discussed settlement of the pending hearing with the Property Assessment
Appeal Board. The settlement agreed upon is $595,000. This amount is the higher of
the two appraisals. The request to have the classification changed from commercial to
agricultural will be dropped.
The taxpayer, Neztrop L.L.C., has also filed a petition for the 2009 assessed value on
the same grounds as the 2008 petition. The 2009 assessed value will also be settled at
this time for $595,000 with a commercial classification.
This settlement will result in a loss of tax dollars of $24,526 per year.
Pursuant to the Stipulation of Settlement, this appeal will be adjusted to $595,000 for
the 2008 and 2009 assessed value.
The proposed settlement will be presented to the Property Assessment Appeal Board
after fourteen days from the date indicated on the attached Notice of Voluntary
Settlement. If there are any objections to the proposed settlement, they should be made
known to the City Assessor prior to that time.
If you have any questions regarding the proposed settlement, please contact Mr.
Richard Engelken, Dubuque City Assessor at 563-589-7800.
cerely
Barry A. Lindahl, Esq.
City Attorney
BAUtIs
Enclosure
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk
Rick Engelken, City Assessor
F:IUSERS\tsteckle\Lindahl\Neztrop, LLC 2008 Tax AppeallC.hairperMayorPres_Neztrop_061209.doc
STATE OF IOWA
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD
IN THE MATTER OF
NEZTROP LLC
Petitioner-Appellant,
vs.
Docket No. 09-104-0038
CITY OF DUBUQUE BOARD OF REVIEW,
Respondent-Appel lee.
STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT
Appellant Neztrop LLC and Appellee City of Dubuque Board of Review, state to
the State of Iowa Property Assessment Appeal Board that the pending litigation
with regard to the tax assessment for the following-described property as of
January 1, 2009:
Parcel No. 1506227001
has been settled and agreed upon as follows:
Valuation:
Land $595,000.00
Total $595,000.00
It is further agreed that upon entry of a Property Assessment Appeal
Board Order confirming the above settlement, the above pending litigation shall
be dismissed with prejudice.
Dated this ~ day ofof
NEZTROP LLC
cN~ , 2009.
by:
Michael E. Portzen
CITY OF DUBUQUE
BOARD Cl~ REVIEW
by:
Barry A. Lindahl, Esq.
Suite 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street
Dubuque, IA 52001-6944
(563) 583-4113
Counsel for the
Board of Review
STATE OF IOWA
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD
Docket No. 09-104-0038
IN THE MATTER OF
NEZTROP LLC
Petitioner-Appellant,
vs.
CITY OF DUBUQUE BOARD OF REVIEW,
Respondent-Appel lee.
NOTICE OF VOLUNTARY SETTLEMENT
TO: City of Dubuque, Iowa
County of Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque Community School District
Northeast Iowa Community college
Dubuque County Hospital
Dubuque County Agricultural Extension Service
Conference Board of the City of Dubuque
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Iowa Code Section 441.44,
that the above-named Appellant and the Dubuque City Board of Review,
Appellee, have entered into a voluntary settlement of this assessment appeal.
A copy of the proposed Stipulation of Settlement is attached hereto.
This Stipulation of Settlement will be presented to the State Of Iowa
Property Assessment Appeal Board for approval after fourteen days from the
date of this Notice.
Dated this 26t" day of June, 2009.
Dubuqu y Board of Review,
Respo nt-Appellee
By
~arry A. Lindahl, Esq., City Attorney
Suite 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street
Dubuque, IA 52001-6944
(563) 583-4113
Counsel for the Board of Review