Four properties receive abatements, one pending appeal

Four Rock County residences received more than $5,000 in tax credits and another property is under consideration after Rock County Commissioners approved recommendations from Tom Houselog, county land records director.
Houselog has been conducting local board of appeal and equalization meetings, where residents can question the upcoming property tax assessments or request disaster credits. Eighteen out of the 20 townships and cities have been completed, he said.
Two of the requests were disaster-related, specifically fire damage.
In order to qualify, structures must receive 50 percent or more in damage, Houselog said.
The other two property tax requests were due to errors in data entry. Houselog said the errors have been corrected.
At their April 21 meeting, commissioners approved the following homeowners, property addresses, amount of the abatement or correction and/or tax credits and the reasons as follows:
•Audrey Gabrielson, 1402 Victory Circle, Luverne; $373.30 abatement for 2014, $379.30 credit for taxes payable in 2015; due to an August 2014 fire.
•New Horizon Farms, Rose Dell Township Section 13; $2,082.52 abatement for 2014, $1,802.04 credit for 2015; due to a January 2014 fire that destroyed the hog production facility.
•Gertrude Wessels, Kanaranzi Township Section 23; $638 credit in taxes payable 2015; due to an error in homestead determination.
•Ezra and Caitlin Breyfogle, 901 N. McKenzie Ave.; $212 credit in taxes payable in 2015; due to an error in homestead determination.
The abatements and credits totaled $5,487.16.
Houselog said one additional disaster-related request was made by Chad and TyAnn Kramer, 1657 Highway 75, for a November 2014 house fire. However, the state Fire Marshal Office is still determining a cause.
“We cannot do anything with that property until that issue is resolved,” he said.