A Mankato subdivision has won a fight over a tax assessed to repair roads and drainage in an erosion-prone area.
In a decision issued late last month, Blue Earth County District Judge Mark Betters ordered Mankato Township to reassess the 29 properties in the Oak Ridge subdivision, a hilltop neighborhood in west Mankato.
The township last year levied a special tax of about $16,500 per home to cover street repairs in the subdivision and improve drainage in two ravines that were eroding. The homeowners appealed the tax, claiming that the township failed to conduct a market assessment before levying the tax.
In his decision, Betters agreed that the properties had been improperly assessed and suggested, based on expert testimony, that a fair assessment would be about $8,000 per property.
The township prevailed on another aspect of the case, with the judge ruling that the drainage project could be considered part of the street repairs. The homeowners had said the drainage work should be considered separately.
In his decision, the judge noted that all 29 properties in the subdivision are served by storm sewers that drain into the two ravines and that the ravine erosion was rightfully part of the street rebuild.
john Reinan
WILLOW RIVER
