According to a preliminary year-end report conducted by Crow Wing County Land Services, the department saw an increase in both the level of activity and quality of service in many of its program areas in 2016.
This past year was a time of change and restructuring for the department. In January, land services began providing all property tax services for the county. The department now houses all land- and property tax-related programs, including property valuation and classification, property tax collection and calculation, document recording, planning and zoning, public land management, vital records and environmental services. A number of these functions previously were performed by the county recorder and county auditor-treasurer offices.
"By common-sense integration of tax and land related services in one spot, we are able to provide better services to customers at a lower cost to taxpayers," stated Mark Liedl, land services director, in a news release. "This is a great accomplishment for our hardworking staff and our policymakers on the county board."
According to the report, the department experienced a significant increase in the number of customer service interactions in 2016. In April, land services opened its customer service counter for all land and property tax transactions. During 2016, staff reported helping 55,145 customers. This is a 70 percent increase from 2015, when 32,335 customer interactions were reported. Of the contacts reported for 2016, 21 percent involved in-person services provided at the customer service counter.
The report also showed improvements in turnaround times for county land use permits. In 2016, more than 900 permits were issued. Of the permits issued in 2016, 70 percent were approved within three days and 90 percent within six days. This compares to the 989 permits issued in 2015, of which only 58 percent were approved within three days and 87 percent within six days.
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"We understand our customers want their permits to be approved in a timely manner, so we're very proud of our service improvements," stated Liedl in the release. "Under the county board's leadership, we've been able to reduce our staffing levels and our levy spending while delivering to taxpayers top-notch service."
Land services also experienced an increase in electronic document recording. In 2016, 5,319 documents were e-filed compared to 4,573 in 2015.
"We are pleased to see an increase in e-filing in 2016, and hope that that growth continues into the coming years," stated Liedl in the release. "E-filing is often an easier and faster way for customers to record documents."
Further, the department saw an increase in the number of properties reviewed in its "quintile" process. The quintile process is a state-mandated process that involves physically viewing 20 percent of the parcels within the county for property valuations effective in 2017. In 2016, more than 13,600 properties were physically viewed for property valuations. This is a 36 percent increase from 2015, when 10,007 properties were reviewed.
The increase is mainly due to change in how properties are selected to be reviewed. Instead of reviewing 20 percent of properties countywide, this year staff focused their efforts primarily on reviewing all of the properties in Brainerd and Crosslake. In the years to come, other cities and townships will be reviewed as a whole, instead of being reviewed in sections.
The full year-end report for the land services department will be completed and available on the county website Friday.
