Christine McChesney
County Assessor
Phone: 507-825-1150
Fax: 507-825-6843
Email: Christine.McChesney@pcmn.us

Questions?  Email: assessor@pcmn.us

The following process will be used to answer questions about the 2021 Valuation notices.  This process has been put in place to adhere to the social distancing of public to protect the health and welfare of all concerned.

What do I do if I have questions about my valuation notice?

 1.  Call the Pipestone County Assessor’s office at 507-825-1150;

 2.  You will be asked for the Parcel Number, which is located on the valuation notice in the yellow highlighted  area identified below:

           3.  Explain briefly your concern with the Valuation Notice to the individual answering the phone
          4.  You will be asked for an email address and a phone number where you can be reached
          5. The office will then assign a staff appraiser to pull the parcel’s information card, the information card will be emailed to the email address provided.  The staff appraiser will contact you at the phone number to review the information.

 We will attempt to respond timely, but ask for your patience.

 Pipestone County Courthouse

416 S Hiawatha AVE
Pipestone, MN 56164

 Hours: 8am - 4:30pm

The Office of the County Assessor is responsible for identifying, listing and valuing all taxable property, both real and personal, for ad valorem tax purposes. The assessor is also required to classify property based on its current use (such as residential, commercial, agricultural, etc.). It is also the responsibility of the assessor to make sure that each assessment is completed in a uniform and equalized manner, insuring that the taxpayers are receiving fair and equitable treatment.

What date is used in valuing my property?

The assessment date for valuing property is January 2 of each year. In situations where there is new construction or improvements, your property is valued using the percentage of completion of the new construction or improvements.

How does the county assessor determine the value of my property?

The county assessor appraises property based on 100% of market value. Market value is supposed to be what the property would sell for if placed on the open market. To assist the assessor in determining this value, a sales study is used. The sales study covers actual sales from October 1 to September 30 of each year (for example 10/1/2004 thru 9/30/2005). The assessor then closely studies these sales, breaking down the sales into categories such as Agricultural Sales, Residential Sales, Residential Acreage Sales, and Commercial/Industrial Sales. The sales are also analyzed by taxing districts, such as the City of Pipestone, Individual Townships, Small Cities etc. Based on the results of this analysis, the assessor determines whether or not property values need to be adjusted to meet the standards that are set by Minnesota Statutes and the Minnesota Department of Revenue. Currently those standards require that the assessor’s estimated market value must fall between 90% and 105% of market value.

How am I notified of the value assessed to my property?

Each year, once the assessment is complete, the county assessor mails each property owner a Notice of Valuation and Classification. This notice is to notify you of the market value and classification of your property for the new assessment year. This notice will list:

• Estimated market value for current year and prior year.
• Value of new improvements.
• Taxable Market value for the current year and prior year.
• Property classification for the current year and prior year.
• Information for appealing the value or classification of your property.