Stipulation of Settlement_Hansel Property Tax AppealTHE CITY OF
DUB UE MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
BARRY LINDAHL
CITY ATTORNEY
To: Mayor ROy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: January 25, 2010
RE: Hansel Property Tax Appeal
Enclosed is a proposed Stipulation of Settlement of the above - referenced tax appeal
which relates to a vacant lot on Cedar Cross Road and Lake Ridge Drive in the city of
Dubuque.
Notice of Voluntary Settlement is sent to all of the taxing bodies which have jurisdiction
over the property. When the notice is sent to the Mayor and City Council, we normally
request that it be placed on the City Council agenda for consideration. In this case,
although the Notice of the Voluntary Settlement was sent to all of the taxing bodies, it
was inadvertently left off of the City Council agenda.
The State of Iowa Property Assessment Appeal Board has approved this settlement.
I would respectfully request that the Mayor and City Council give consideration to the
Stipulation of Settlement and approve it.
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk
F: \USERS \tsteckle \Lindahl\Tax Appeals \Hansel Richard & Charlene 2009 Tax Appeal\ MayorCouncil_ StipulationofSettlement _012510.doc
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DUBUQUE, IOWA
SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001 -6944
TELEPHONE (563) 583 -4113 / FAx (563)583-1040/ EMAIL balesq @cityofdubuque.org
IN THE MATTER OF
Richard V. & Charlene L. Hansel Living Trusts,
Petitioner - Appellant,
vs.
Dubuque City Board of Review,
Respondent-Appellee.
Appellant Jeffrey Hansel, Trustee for the Richard V. & Charlene L. Hansel Living
Trusts, and Appellee Dubuque City 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:
has been settled and agreed upon as follows:
Valuation:
Land
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.
ti•
Dated this 1 o t day of Ltt.v ►bLR , 2009.
JEFFREY HANSEL, TRUSTEE
STATE OF IOWA
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD
Docket No. 09- 104 -0103
Parcel No. 10 -34- 101 -019
STIPULATION OF SETTLEMENT
Parcel No. 10 -34- 101 -019
$335,000.00
DUBUQUE TY BOARD
OF REV
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
IN THE MATTER OF
STATE OF IOWA
PROPERTY ASSESSMENT APPEAL BOARD
Docket No. 09- 104 -0103
Parcel No. 10 -34- 101 -019
Richard V. & Charlene L. Hansel Living Trusts,
Petitioner - Appellant,
vs.
Dubuque City Board of Review,
Respondent-Appellee.
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 14 day of December, 2009.
Dubuque City Board of Review,
Respondent - ellee
By
Bar A. Lindahl, Esq., City Attorney
Sui a 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street
Dubuque, IA 52001 -6944
(563) 583 -4113
Counsel for the Board of Review
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
City Hall
13 & 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
City Hall
13 & Central
Dubuque, IA 52001
Dear Chairpersons, Mayor and President:
2007
December 14, 2009
Dubuque THE crri
DUB
1 1111. F v
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
E
Chairperson of the Council of the
Dubuque County Agricultural Extension
Service
14742 Hwy. 20 West, Suite 2
Dubuque, IA 52003
RE: Richard V. & Charlene L. Hansel Living Trusts vs. Dubuque City Board of
Review — 2009 Property Tax Protest, State of Iowa Property Assessment —
Docket No. 09- 104 -0103
Enclosed is a copy of a Stipulation of Settlement of a tax assessment 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 with frontage on
both Cedar Cross Road and Lake Ridge Drive, Dubuque, Iowa, Assessor's Parcel No.
1034101019.
The Dubuque City Assessor's Office valued the property for January 1, 2009 at
$714,000. The property was subject to a three year platting law limitation that had
locked in the value at $66,300 for 2008.
The Hansel Living Trust is represented by Jeff Hansel. Mr. Hansel filed a protest with
the Dubuque City Board of Review claiming his property was over assessed based on
comparable properties. Mr. Hansel also feels the property should instead be valued at
$287,250 due to access problems and because a large amount of the property is fill
ground or unusable. The Board of Review upon deliberation felt Mr. Hansel's arguments
had some validity and reduced his property to $522,750.
Mr. Hansel then filed a protest with the Property Assessment Appeal Board claiming his
assessment was excessive considering comparable properties and the market value of
his property. He requested his property be reduced to $287,250. The City Assessor's
Office acting for the City Board of Review hired Tom Howe, a licensed appraiser, to find
the correct value for the property. Mr. Howe reviewed multiple sales and reached a
value conclusion of $335,000.
With this knowledge the City Assessor's Office acting on behalf of the City Board of
Review offered a settlement offer of $335,000 to the petitioner. The petitioner accepted
the offer but expressed his desire that the value be lowered.
The settlement amount is the value that the certified appraiser reached. This is
consistent with Property Assessment Appeal Board decisions the past few years.
The settlement will result in a Toss of tax dollars of $6,518 but does represent an
increase of $9,328 over the prior year.
Pursuant to the Stipulation of Settlement, this appeal will be dismissed and the tax
assessment will be adjusted to $335,000 for Parcel No. 1034101019 for January 1,
2009.
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 know to the
City Assessor prior to that time.
If you have any questions about the proposed settlement, please contact City Assessor,
Rick Engelken at (563)- 589 -4416.
BAL /tls
2
1 erely
arry A. Lindahl, Esq
ity Attorney
Enclosure
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk
Rick Engelken, City Assessor
3