NEW ULM - After an investigation by the county assessor's office, Brown County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a tax abatement application Tuesday for a Milford Township landowner.

The estimated market value of Charles Henle's property will be reduced by 13 acres.

The reduction includes 6.5 acres of woodland and 6.5 acres of wasteland for payable 2010 taxes.

An Aug. 1, 2008 survey by Bolton & Menk, Inc. of Sleepy Eye did not agree with recorded acres of the Henle property.

In a May 21 e-mail to New Ulm attorney Robert Hinnenthal, Bolton & Menk Land Surveyor Aaron Mages stated that the discrepancy was caused by two monuments, a concrete monument and a railroad spike, in the centerline of the north-south township road at the East Quarter corner of Section 6.

According to old field notes, the concrete monument was set by Registered Land Surveyor C.N. Robertson in 1924. Anton Henle and several others were present.

Bolton & Menk had no record of how the railroad spike, located 22.28 feet south of the monument, ever came to be but believed the concrete monument to be the correct location of the East Quarter Corner.

The e-mail added that the railroad spike has been held by mistake in the past, including the plat Westview Subdivision.

Commissioners also:

Reduced the Juvenile Probation Department Crew position from 32 to 20 hours a week, effective Jan. 1, 2010. Annual potential savings would be $12,260.

Director Les Schultz said that the position may need to be revisited if juvenile numbers increase and the financial outlook improves.

By a 3-2 vote, with commissioners Andy Lochner and Richard See dissenting, approved a resolution to remove from the 2010 budget spending $29,354 in local levy money for a proposed 11th Family Services financial worker position.

In a letter to the board, Theresa Schroeder stated that her unit "is working hard to be effective and provide good customer service...is feeling overwhelmed right now but benefits from very competent, long-term employees."

"Our aging babyboomer population has more complicated asset and income issues than the previous generation," wrote Schroeder. "These cases can be more complex when the applicant needs assisted living or nursing home care."

Family Services current caseload is 1,870. A 10th financial worker was authorized last year when the caseload was 1,700.

Appointed senior appraiser Anne Grunert as full-time deputy assessor, $40,279, as of Jan. 2, 2010. Grunert will replace Rita Treml who will become county assessor on Jan. 2, 2010.

Adjusted the square footage of Ron and Diane Gent's home in Sleepy Eye.

Gent said the square footage of his house and garage have been wrong for more than 30 years and should be corrected for taxes payable in 2009.

After measuring the home and garage, Brown County Senior Appraiser Anne Grunert reported Gent's garage square footage should be 624 instead of 576 and the home square footage should be 1,136 instead of 1,184.

The change created a market value reduction of $3,500.

The correction will be done in payable year 2011.

(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).