St. Mark’s Lutheran Home granted abatement

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 2, 2000

What’s fair is fair.

Wednesday, August 02, 2000

What’s fair is fair.

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If Sacred Heart Care Center can enjoy an abatement of its taxes, so should St. Mark’s Lutheran Home.

That was Mike Sutherland’s reasoning Tuesday and the Mower County Board of Commissioners concurred.

The board unanimously approved the county assessor’s request for an abatement of $33,738 in taxes on the St. Mark’s property in southwest Austin – valued at $1.2 million.

For a number of years, Sutherland told the commissioners a "phenomenon" has existed in connection with nursing homes in Minnesota.

That phenomenon has been assisted living quarters.

Nursing homes, including Sacred Heart and St. Mark’s have constructed assisted living units adjoining their residential care facilities. Residents who live there are charged both rent/leasing fees as well as fees for the supportive services offered them from employees of the adjoining nursing home.

The Minnesota Legislature was asked to defer property taxes on assisted living units, but to date, has issued only a moratorium on the issue and left it alone.

Craig Byram, an attorney for St. Mark’s, has communicated with Sutherland about obtaining the same exemption privileges that Sacred Heart received when it added assisted living units onto the facility.

Court cases have ruled in favor of nursing homes, saying, in effect, when the public charity businesses have added assisted living units as a means to keep their existing employees employed, they are entitled to an abatement of the taxes on the new additions to their facilities.

"But," Sutherland reminded the county commissioners, "nobody has made a hard law yet about the situation."

"For me, it’s an equity issue," he said.

"Either I take Sacred Heart off the abatement list or I add St. Mark’s to it," he said.

David Hillier, Third District, made the motion to approve granting St. Mark’s an abatement of the near-$34,000 in property taxes for tax year 2000 (payable in 2001). Len Miller, Fourth District, seconded Hillier’s motion.

"But," asked Ray Tucker, Second District and county board chairman, "are we right?"

Sutherland said St. Mark’s has "existed for a very long time and paid taxes for a number of years."

It was enough of a reason to console the commissioners their action would write-off $34,000 in property taxes due the county next year.

The only other option for St. Mark’s would have been to take the issue to tax court similar to the action being taken by Hormel Foods Corp., which is disputing the assessed valuations on its properties.

The abatement was unanimously approved by the five county commissioners.

Because of St. Mark’s, the city of Austin and Austin Independent School District No. 492 will be asked to return their share of the $34,000 in taxes by having their next apportionment of property taxes adjusted downward.