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Opening Arguments

No wonder

Hey, here's an idea. Let's seek bids on construction of the City-County Building. A stupid idea, you say, since the place was built years ago? Well, it's no stupider than this:

Getting land appraised after the sale

Posted in: Our town

Comments

Bob G.
Wed, 03/21/2007 - 7:21am

No...it's also no wonder they are getting the "hell outta Dodge" too.

;)

B.G.

mark
Wed, 03/21/2007 - 1:22pm

Leo-

The story is not, as your paper's article implies, that we have a silly state law that requires cities to go get appraisals after they purchase property. We have a law that requires appraisals by Redevelopment Commissions and a specific vote authorizing offers to purchase if the offer will exceed the average appraised value. The statute was intended to give Redevelopment Commissions information to make rational decisions before they buy.

It was our Redevelopment Commission that determined, aaparently, that they could reverse the process: authorizing the purchases and then getting the appraisals after the sale closes. The "pointlessness" arises from the City's chosen course of action, not the requirements of the law. You might ask a reporter to look into it.

Leo Morris
Wed, 03/21/2007 - 2:20pm

Good point. I'll pass it along.

Steve Towsley
Wed, 03/21/2007 - 2:42pm

>The city has closed on many of the 50 >properties...

>State law says the redevelopment >commission must obtain two appraisals
>in a land sale, with the average of the
>two indicating fair market value.

Does this mean that the appraised value becomes the cap, forcing the city to acquire all the rest of the 50 properties under the appraised fair market value? Maybe it should. That would tend to stop the foolishness pretty quick, I would think, and I'd say state law trumps local machinations.

Often, politicians sit up a lot straighter in the face of inevitable court challenges than laws on the books OR their own constituencies.

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