Longtime Oakdale Resident, Volunteer Starts a Senior Citizens' Coalition

Oakdale resident Kenneth Heuer said he is working to start a coalition that would advocate for senior citizens who are at risk of losing their homes, in part, due to overly high property taxes. Heuer said he fought the assessments on his home for many years—sometimes successfully and sometimes unsuccessfully. Heuer, who has lived in his Oakdale home since 1991, has been committed to volunteerism—serving on the Oakdale Tree Board, Oakdale Environmental Management Commission and currently on the Washington County Parks and Open Space Commission. He also ran for Oakdale mayor in 2010. He was a Northwest airline mechanic for 25 years and also worked for NELA, which was located in Oakdale before moving to River Falls, up until he retired in January. Oakdale Patch sat down with Heuer to hear about his thoughts on taxation and community involvement.

Oakdale Patch: What originally got you into the tax issue?

Kenneth Heuer: I’ve always been involved in the community. I’ve always volunteered anyplace I can. And basically, when the taxes started going crazy, I’ve always fought for justice as far as taxes go, and it’s kind of what got me into learning about taxes and understanding how they assess taxes.

Oakdale Patch: How did you come to meet people who had been forced out of their houses by economic conditions?

Heuer: Basically first it was word of mouth. I’ve met a few of them in stores. We talked to them and kind of got interested, and that’s when I decided it was time to start a coalition for senior citizens.

Oakdale Patch: Tell me about the typical person who’s at this point that they’re being forced to move out of their house.

Heuer: They’re people that bought their houses 40 years ago … they bought their houses for a very reasonable—a house back then was $10,000 to $12,000. Forty years ago my first house was $15,000 … It just increased over the years, the taxes, and a lot of the retirees, the older people that are in their seventies and eighties, their Social Security is very minimal, and it just gets to the point where they couldn’t afford it and they have to be moved out. Some of them moved out on their own choice, because it was getting to be too much and other people are actually being forced out.

Oakdale Patch: How does your coalition operate?

Heuer: Basically right now it’s in a very infant stage because I just started it this year. We try to find people that are in trouble and see if we can help them. … I hope eventually it will grow to a size where we can be a small, persuasive group that can help people out in all the communities of Washington County and maybe even grow bigger.

Oakdale Patch: From your perspective, how do you see this issue holistically? Where do the taxes fit into the fact that people are struggling, and what are the other factors?

Heuer: The other factors are gas and electric prices. Your fuel costs are up to right near $4 a gallon. … All these things put together are what are hurting the senior citizens and not everybody wants to move into a senior citizens' home.  ... With the state of Minnesota being one of six states that taxes Social Security, that hurts as well.

Oakdale Patch: Have you had success in arguing your property value down?

Heuer: To start with the first four years in Oakdale I did but in the last 16, no, and not many people do anymore.

Oakdale Patch: Do you argue it every year?

Heuer: I have up until five years ago. I just decided it wasn’t worth the trouble anymore. I’m trying to lay back and go at a different direction now, and try to get a bigger group together.

Oakdale Patch: Do you follow tax issues closely at the state and national levels?

Heuer: Right now it’s the county and the city. You can only go so big. I keep an eye at the Capitol on it, but there’s not much I can do there. You hear the bills and you see the bills that interest you like getting the Social Security untaxed, that’s a big thing and I’d like to see a situation where they would, say, take senior citizens that are on Social Security and give them a 25 percent discount on their school taxes and a 10 percent discount on both their city and county taxes, which I think would be a big help to the people.

Oakdale Patch: It sounds like you really pay attention to levels of government where you can have your voice heard.

Heuer: That is correct. Once you go beyond the county level, I think your voice gets drowned out very quickly.

Oakdale Patch: Why have you been so committed to volunteering on these boards and commissions over the years?

Heuer: Because I always feel that you can make the community better. I like to make the city better. I’d like to make the community a better place to live in. That’s why I’ve spent such a great deal on the parks and open spaces because I’ve had the opportunity to see Big Marine develop and I was really involved in the development of the park along with the other commissioners and the county and the city. And same with the cities developing the parks and the playgrounds … I’m happy we have a nature center. That was a great addition to the community because of all the walk paths.

For more information on Heuer’s coalition, call him at 651-777-6903.