Assessing Info FEB 18 2021

People moved closer to family during the pandemic ... what if they stay there? >

In January, Fortune magazine asked more than 100 U.S. CEOs how much office space they will need going forward. The results do not bode well for major city centers: Three in four surveyed CEOs say they will need “a little” or “a lot” less office space going forward. After nearly a year of working in pajamas, this forecast comes as no surprise. There’s a large group of people who are eager to see the status quo, wherein high-income workers increasingly congregate in just a few cities, collapse? Read more

Gym owner seeking property tax break is delinquent on $549,000 in property taxes >

Fitness club magnate Rodney Steven initiated a campaign to persuade the Kansas Legislature to rid his for-profit industry of property taxes while delinquent on at least $549,000 in property taxes owed to three counties. The state House is being encouraged by Steven’s lobbyists and his GOP Statehouse allies to insert a health club exemption into the Kansas Senate’s high-profile property tax transparency bill. If adopted, the amendment would enable Genesis Health Clubs, owned by Steven, to avoid an estimated $2.5 million in property taxes each year. Read more

Tyler Technologies

to buy software firm

in $2.3 billion deal >

In what’s most likely the largest gov tech deal ever — one which would bring together a giant of local government software with a giant of state government software — Tyler Technologies is moving to acquire NIC. The deal, for which Tyler plans on spending $2.3 billion, still needs approval from regulators and NIC stockholders. But the price per share of both of the companies rose Tuesday following the news, and the acquisition is one Tyler has been working on for a long time. Read more

IAAO NEWS

+ Free webinar on spotting human trafficking is Friday >

IAAO is offering a complimentary webinar on spotting human trafficking on Feb. 19. The topic was presented at IAAO's 86th Annual Conference and in an article in IAAO's Fair+ Equitable. Kirk Boone and Margaret Henderson will expand on their knowledge of how property tax officials can help save lives. The webinar will review important signs to look for, provide insight into how property tax officials can report suspicious indicators, and have time set aside for Q&A with experts. No CEUs will be provided. Read more

+ Get up to date on IAAO during online Town Hall Feb. 25 >

IAAO will host an online Town Hall at 2 p.m. Central Thursday, Feb. 25 to update members on recent association activities and plans for 2021 and beyond. Members can register to attend at http://www.iaao.org/townhallreg. President Greg McHenry, AAS, and Executive Director Debra McGuire, MBA, IOM, CAE, will discuss strategic planning efforts, deliver updates on committee and task force activities, and review the status of IAAO meetings, membership, and education. In addition, they will review how the association has dealt with challenges raised by COVID-19 in delivering products and events to the membership and the impact on the association going forward. Questions may be submitted before the Town Hall to townhall@iaao.org. Read more

+ Donna VanderVries selected to Michigan leadership program >

IAAO Board member Donna VanderVries, CAE, AAS, PPS, Esq., is a new member of Michigan State University’s 2021 class of Michigan Political Leadership Program (MPLP) Fellows. MPLP trains specially selected Michigan residents – equal numbers of men and women and Republicans and Democrats – from communities across the state, who spend 10 months learning about how to govern, lead in public service, and run for elected office. MPLP alumni serve in the Michigan House and Senate, and at the township, city, county, school board, and precinct levels. Read more

+ New issue of Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration available >

An updated version of Volume 17, Issue 2 of the Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration is now available to download and read. The Journal is now available ONLY as an electronic issue. Articles in Volume 17, Issue 2 of the Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration include: Nationwide Mass Appraisal Modeling in China: Feasibility Analysis for Scalability Given Ad Valorem Property Tax Reform; A Gini Measure for Vertical Equity in Property Assessments; and Florida Court of Appeal Rules against Rushmore Approach in Disney Resort Decision. Access to digital copies of Journal issues is available online through the IAAO Research Exchange at researchexchange.iaao.org. Read more

+ Legal Seminar Call for Papers deadline is March 31

March 31 is the deadline to submit program topic proposals for the IAAO 42nd Annual Legal Seminar, set for Dec. 2-3, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Legal Task Force is seeking qualified professionals to present on topics of interest to lawyers and assessors and possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following categories: unique valuation problems, effective representation, courtroom technology, public policy, appeal processes, public relations, and ethics. Click here for more information and to submit a presentation.

+ Data quality standard released for exposure >

The IAAO Board of Directors approved a new standard on Data Quality for exposure to the membership. The draft IAAO Standard on Data Quality defines quality requirements for critical elements of assessment data and provides guidance for meeting those requirements for use in mass appraisal. Assessment data for the purposes of this standard can be separated into property characteristic, economic, and geographic. Comments on the proposed standard should be sent by March 12 to Paul Bidanset (bidanset@iaao.org), IAAO Valuation Research Project Manager. Read more

+ GIS/Valuation Technologies Virtual Conference registration open >

Registration is open for the 24th Annual GIS/Valuation Technologies Conference, offered as a virtual event in 2021 due to concerns over COVID-19. The conference will offer programming and a series of optional workshops. Programs will be offered on Tuesday, March 23 through noon on Thursday, March 25, and areas for the conference are GIS technologies, leadership development & policy; modeling & valuation; and a partner track. Workshops will be offered on Monday, March 22, the afternoon of Thursday, March 25, and Friday, March 26. Visit gisvaltech2021.sched.com for the full schedule. Read more

IAAO CONNECT CORNER

+ Hot Topic: effective age >

IAAO Connect members are discussing questions about calculating a reasonable effective age. Read more

AROUND THE INDUSTRY

+ Some state lawmakers slow-rolling emergencey rental dollars from Congress >

Even as Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress debate the scope of the next coronavirus relief package, Republican state lawmakers are slow-rolling millions of dollars in relief from the last bill. That’s forcing some cities and counties to pursue workarounds — seeking aid directly from the federal government. Threats to stall or block aid distribution could have real-world consequences for tenants: States have only so long to spend the money from Treasury before they lose it. And other bottlenecks still await. Read more

+ Calls in the UK to scrap stamp duty, replace it with a 'fairer' property tax >

While recent weeks have seen appeals from many in the property industry for the government to extend the existing stamp-duty giveaway, momentum is also growing among some politicians and campaigners for a more radical and “fairer” approach to property taxes. A petition organised by the Fairer Share campaign that calls on the government to scrap stamp duty, council tax and the “bedroom tax” and replace them with a flat-rate payment based on the current value of a property, had as of Friday been signed by more than 105,000 people. Those supporting Fairer Share include the campaign group Generation Rent, which represents private renters, including many hoping to buy a property at some point. Read more

+ Welcome to the post-pandemic dream home >

With all the additional time Americans are spending at home, the pandemic has made many people hyperaware of what they like — and what they don’t — about the space they live in: Natural light went from being a perk to a lifeline; an open-concept floor plan went from being an occasional annoyance to an exasperating privacy killer. Sometime, hopefully not long from now, the threat of the pandemic will lift and homes will go back to being just one place among many where people spend a great deal of time. What will they have learned about what they want from their living space? Read more

+ Some California property owners rush to transfer inheritance ahead of new Prop. 19 rules >

Sonoma County property owners are scrambling to transfer estates to their heirs ahead of a Tuesday deadline as part of an effort to avoid higher property taxes stemming from a law voters approved last November. Proposition 19, which removes property tax shelters for heirs, could cost farm families tens of thousands of dollars, agriculture advocates say, and the rush to avoid those daunting impacts has inundated estate planning attorneys and county assessors ahead of the looming deadline. Read more