By Sara StrongThe wheels are in motion for the third contract between the city of Luverne and Rock County to be terminated. The Rock County Board of Commissioners and the Luverne City Council met Tuesday, and decided to end the assessing contract. Recently, the Pool and Fitness Center and dispatching contracts were ended. The city of Luverne will advertise for assessing proposals for next year, after the county turned down its idea for reducing Luverne’s fee.Rock County has provided assessing services for Luverne since 1980. The fee for 2004 was $35,700.Luverne wanted the fee brought down to $30,000 for 2005 and 2006, but Rock County said that wouldn’t be possible. County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "If we can’t recoup our cost, we can’t do it." Rock County charges its contract cities based on the percentage of time the Assessor’s Office spends with that city. In Luverne’s case, the charge was 75 percent of one person’s time. The county also assesses for Steen and Hills.Breaking down the fee to a per parcel cost, Luverne pays $15.47. Comparing that to Hills ($13.35 per parcel) and Steen ($14.23 per parcel), the Luverne City Council thought its contract should be reduced.The county said that the amount of commercial and industrial property in Luverne simply takes more time to assess, and the fee reflects that.For comparison, Granite Falls pays $16.70 per parcel; Pipestone pays $11.24 per parcel; Magnolia pays $5.85 per parcel; Redwood Falls pays $16.71 per parcel, and Worthington pays $19.52 per parcel. With the equivalent of 75 percent of an assessing employee paid for by the city’s contract, a job could be on the line.Oldre said, "It’ll be an adjustment for us, that’s for sure. The County Board is going to have to discuss its options."The city will send out its requests for proposals to prospective assessors, including the county, this week.Mayor Glen Gust said he hoped the county would respond with a proposal. Councilman Pat Baustian said, "If we can keep our business local, that’s what we want to do."
