The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

May 22, 2012

Blue Earth County Board approves eviction proceedings

By Dan Linehan The Free Press

MANKATO — Eviction proceedings can begin for the owners of three Blue Earth County homes who haven't paid taxes in five years, the County Board decided Tuesday.

One of the homes is in Amboy and two are in rural areas of the county. If they're still occupied by the end of May, the county will begin the eviction process in court.

The state took control of the properties in November, after years of negotiations with the home owners to pay the taxes, Assessor Michael Stalberger said.

"We're going to take this as a last resort," he said.

It's not rare for property to be seized for unpaid taxes -- 95 parcels are going through that process this year -- but it's very uncommon for those parcels to be occupied homes. County officials can't remember any evictions like this happening in the past few decades.

It doesn't appear any of the three homes has a mortgage. At this stage, anyone with an ownership interest (such as the home owner or a bank with a mortgage) could pay the back taxes and take control of the properties. If there were mortgages on the properties, a bank would likely find it a good investment to pay the back taxes to take control of the houses.

These evictions might become more frequent, as the number of tax-forfeited properties appears to be rising. Forty more parcels are on track to be forfeited next year. The county has not recorded the number of tax-forfeited parcels in the past, but the recent numbers are higher than usual.

State law proscribes a detailed process for tax forfeiture, and the County Board typically approves each step along the way.

Stalberger also asked the County Board for some of that authority to be passed to the county auditor, in this case Patty O'Connor, taxpayer services director. The board typically meets twice a month, and Stalberger said complying with the numerous waiting periods in law would cause delays if action could only be taken in board meetings.

Commissioner Vance Stuehrenberg hesitated, saying "I like the idea that elected officials get the final say."

But he said he trusted the staff and supported the measure, which passed unanimously.

Stalberger said the board will still have to approve eviction proceedings like this.

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