Polk County board reviews 2025 assessment study, adjusts several appeals including one residential reduction to $499,000

Polk County assessors presented the methodology and results used to develop the 2025 property assessment and the Board of Appeal and Equalization heard scheduled taxpayer appeals and assessor recommendations before issuing decisions on several parcels.

The county assessor, Mark Lansford, told the board the assessment used sales from Oct. 1, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024, consistent with Minnesota statute guidance and Department of Revenue practice. Lansford summarized results by property type: the countywide residential net change was about 1%, commercial/industrial values rose about 8% countywide, and new construction added roughly $32,394,000 to county values. He said some small towns and lakeshore areas required larger local adjustments after ratio studies showed results outside the state guideline range of a 90%–105% median sales ratio.

Why it matters: the board's decisions set the official assessed values used for 2025 assessments, which determine property tax notices and provide the basis for appeals and any further state review.

Presentation and methodology

Lansford reviewed national and local indicators and explained that assessors use median sales ratios (assessed value divided by sale price) and sales within the stated one-year study window to determine market adjustments. He highlighted local hotspots: Fertile and Fisher showed low ratios that needed upward adjustments; McIntosh and Winger showed high ratios (Winger had few sales so assessors approached changes cautiously); several lakes and Godfrey Township required targeted changes to lakeshore “front‑foot” rates; and rural vacant land continued to lag market sales despite prior multi‑year increases. Lansford said there were no state board orders for Polk County for 2025.

Appeals and board decisions

- Brandon Peabody (1503 Crystal Circle, East Grand Forks): Peabody told the board his assessed value jumped sharply on his 2026 tax statement and disputed a roughly $131,000 change from the prior year. Assessors said a December 2024 recheck noted differences from earlier exterior records—pickups included basement finish, a gas fireplace, remeasured square footage, brick veneer and a small patio and shed—and that some prior interior features were not captured in earlier assessments. The board discussed comparables and the recent sales record, then voted to set the assessed value for the subject property at $499,000 for the coming year (motion carried). The board noted the property will be reviewed again in the office’s normal quinquennial cycle.

- Gary Enright (vacant lot, East Grand Forks): Enright questioned an increase from about $19,400 to $43,000. Assessors explained East Grand Forks uses a tiered per‑square‑foot land schedule with different first‑tier and second‑tier square‑foot rates by parcel size and improvement status. Assessors adjusted the listing at the open‑book stage to $35,400 to align with the city schedule; the board voted to keep the value at $35,400 (motion carried). Board members discussed comparables and the fact that the parcel had been listed for sale by the owner; the board also asked staff to provide an application for a vacant‑lot classification/abatement where appropriate.

- Crookston Gun Club (representative Craig LaPlante): The club, which identifies as a 501(c)(7) organization, reported its assessed market value had risen sharply and asked for valuation relief and consideration of tax‑exempt status. Club representatives described the site’s history (an old dump area), limited usable acreage, environmental constraints cited by past users and recent plantings intended as pollinator/bioremediation projects. Assessors had already adjusted the allocation between land and building components and reduced the assessed total before the board meeting; staff and the board discussed classification options (seasonal recreation, non‑tillable, pasture, or CRP/rim program) and directed staff to follow up on possible exemption paperwork and to reclassify portions of the parcel consistent with current use. The board approved the assessor’s staffing recommendation to reduce the current valuation allocation and instructed assessors to pursue exempt‑status documentation from the club (motion carried).

- Other assessor recommendations and local board referrals: The board approved assessor‑recommended updates that followed interior rechecks or remeasurements. Those included a change after an interior recheck to a Pam Village property (adjusting basement finish from living quarters to minimal finish), a recommended reduction for Jesse Schulte (Fisher) following an interior review and remeasurement, and a recommended increase for Richard and Linda Klein (East Grand Forks) after assessors remeasured interior square footage. The board voted to adopt those staff recommendations (motions carried).

Discussion vs. decision

Board members and staff took care to distinguish discussion points (questions about comparables, notification practices for interior inspections and the county’s quinquennial review cycle) from formal outcomes. Several board members asked assessors to follow standard procedures for notification of field reviews and to consider clerical abatements when county staff errors (for example, prior exterior misses) were the cause of an incorrect prior assessment. The board noted that the office will run its regular review cycle in the area in the coming summer, which could rebalance values across neighboring parcels.

Votes at a glance

- Brandon Peabody (Crystal Circle, East Grand Forks): board set assessed value at $499,000 for the coming year (motion carried). - Gary Enright (vacant lot, East Grand Forks): board left value at $35,400 (motion carried). - Crookston Gun Club (multiple acres): board approved assessor’s reduced allocation and asked staff to pursue exemption documentation and reclassification where appropriate (motion carried). - Pam Village recheck, Jesse Schulte (Fisher) and Richard and Linda Klein (East Grand Forks): board approved assessor recommendations to update values based on interior rechecks and remeasurements (motions carried).

What’s next

Assessors reminded property owners that decisions affect the 2025 assessment (taxes payable in 2026) and that owners can contact the assessor’s office with questions. The board and staff said they will send written notices of decisions and follow up on exemption applications and classification changes where directed.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke at the Polk County Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting during the 2025 assessment review and appeals process.