Commissioner’s Comments
By Robert Doty MN Revenue Commissioner
New Year, New Opportunities Now that 2021 is here, the Department on the agenda as the governor and of Revenue is gearing up for another legislators craft a budget for 2022productive year for the agency and our 23. partners like MAAO. You play a key role in our property tax Before continuing this discussion, system, which helps fund important I’d like to introduce myself as the public services across Minnesota. new revenue commissioner. For the Whatever this year brings, the last three decades, I’ve worked as an department is here to support you accounting, finance, and organizational with the tools and guidance you need. leader in both the private and public In normal times, physical inspections sectors. and meetings make up a large part of your work. But last year we all Most recently, I served as Revenue’s needed to adapt quickly to social assistant commissioner for tax policy distancing requirements and other and public engagement. In that role, safety measures just as appeals I’ve seen how the department’s season began – one of the busiest partnership with MAAO benefits our times on the property tax calendar. state. We continued to adapt our routines throughout the year. Together, we I look forward to building on this tackled many questions about how to relationship, and to meeting you – fulfill assessors’ statutory duties in a whether virtually or in-person – at safe way for you and the Minnesotans future MAAO-Revenue events. we all serve.
Fluid Situation The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present special challenges to property assessors and dominate public debate at the Capitol as the legislative session begins (January 5). Taxes will also be
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Winter 2021 / Equal Eyes
I know our Property Tax Division discussed these, and other topics, with you at the MAAO Fall Conference in October. That discussion showed how many assessors found the transition to working from home relatively
easy, though not always seamless, which mirrors our experience at Revenue. We’re fortunate that telework and online conferencing technology make it possible to do much of our work at a safe, social distance. We may be able to transition back to office work this year, as COVID-19 vaccines become more available. However, we all continue to deal with some big unknowns. It’s not yet clear when things will start returning to what we remember as “normal.” At the Fall Conference, some concerns were raised about the pandemic’s continuing impact on our collective work. We continue to take questions and consider options for how to administer property taxes in a safe and fair manner for 2021 and beyond. For now, please stay safe and follow our existing guidance on the use of virtual meetings and other tools to do your work remotely. The department will continue to monitor this situation and the
