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Opinion: $135,500.00 missing from Mason City tax collection, citizen claims

It is time to call in the State Auditor and investigators to look into the Renaissance Project. I believe there may be some wrong doing and it begs looking into!

Mason City has committed what I consider corrupt and underhanded activities in their run-up to promoting the Renaissance Project. Mason City taxpayers are ALREADY subsidizing this project and I find that criminal.

Just because the mall went through bankruptcy and the fellow from New York was able to purchase the mall for 1-1/2 million dollars does not mean the malls assessed value for tax purposes should have been set at 1-1/2 million dollars by the City Assessor. That City Assessor’s motive for setting the mall valuation that low should be investigated. Was the City Assessor pressured into setting the mall’s valuation that low for the purpose of the TIF project?

The Mason City Council should formally request an investigation by the State Auditor. My experience with Assessor’s has always been they have guidelines they use to set values.

I have purchased property below the properties assessed value and requested a lowering of my property taxes based on my purchase price. My request was denied and my property value was kept at its current valuation. Why wasn’t the same true for the mall?

It is my belief that the mall’s assessment has been set artificially low at 1-1/2 million dollars and is currently supposed to pay $48,500 per year. I believe for tax purposes the mall’s current property value is somewhere between 6 to 8 million dollars and at the very least should be paying $185,000.00 per year in property taxes. Remember It would cost over 20 million to build so my estimate is in the ball park.

Mason City taxpayers are losing approximately $136,500 per year in property tax collections!

I believe corrupt public officials have set the malls value artificially low to use the difference between the old valuation and the new valuation (TIF) to pay for Renaissance Project. If I am correct it means “we the taxpayers” are paying more in property taxes than we should because the mall is not paying their fair share. Or put another way, we taxpayers are paying taxes that the mall should be paying now.

I believe the TAXPAYERS of Mason City are already being scammed and their tax dollars diverted to create this project. It this is the case this is criminal, and those who set this up should be held accountable. This amounts to a diversion of public money for personal gain. Politically or financially it is both against the law.

The state auditor should be brought in and this should be investigated. If what I suspect is true someone should go to jail!

Letter to NIT from a concerned citizen, 10-29-2017
Mason City, Iowa


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