Court PTAB. Board of Review CCAO. Township Assessor

Transcription

1 Court PTAB Board of Review CCAO Township Assessor

2 Welcome! 35 ILCS 200/9-15: annual meeting of supervisor of assessments. Education is one of my primary responsibilities. Several voluntary seminars will be offered including: land valuation, regression analysis, neighborhood determination, etc. The meeting will be interactive. I ll be asking questions, so should you. 2

3 Welcome! Three elements are required to make this meeting, and our relationship, successful. Complete honesty. Total candor. Mutual trust. Interactive project. Please list any issue, desired change, enhancement, etc. on a separate sheet. My thanks to County Board Member Ms. Sherry Giesecke for this great kick-off idea. 3

4 Welcome! Character is a diamond that scratches every other stone. Cyrus A. Bartol Live your life so you can walk down any street in any city and not be concerned about whom you might encounter. Alfonse Zielinski 4

5 Welcome! Acronyms used throughout this presentation: PTC = Property Tax Code BoR = Board of Review DoR = Department of Review EQ = equalize(r) TSA = township assessor SA = Supervisor of Assessments PRC = Property Record Card 5

6 Welcome! Acknowledgements: our offices exist to serve taxpayers, taxpayers deserve honesty, accuracy, fairness and hard work, and, in Boone County, Township Assessors determine value. 6

7 Working as a Team It s important citizens realize our offices play a minimal role in establishing their tax bills. Assessor's only fairly allocate the levy among the township's parcels. The more accurate those allocations, the less likely appeals will be filed. The fewer appeals filed, the more time we have to improve accuracy. The taxpayers benefit in every step. 7

8 Working as a Team Successful property tax cycles: a team effort. 8

9 Working as a Team Statements of fact: I respect each of you, I trust each of you, I value working with each of you and my default perspective is that of peers. Until I m given reason not to. 9

10 Working as a Team My base premise approaching challenges. 10

11 Working as a Team My promises to you. I (and our office) will: never lie to you, keep my word and never feed you a line of BS. if I don't know something, I'll convey promptly that, go find the answer and convey it. We hope we can expect the same in return. 11

12 Working as a Team Some insights. Often misunderstood. Perception: cold, uncaring, arbitrary and opinionated. Reality: deeply cares about people, focused on data and results and brings a for-profit perspective. 12

13 Working as a Team Some insights. B.S., Chemical Engineering, Purdue University. MBA, Michigan State University. Six Sigma Master Black Belt. Three+ decades valuation experience. Certified appraiser in IL & WI. Four years as Grafton Township Assessor ($1.5B EAV, 21,662 parcels). Elected to a second term via write-in. USMC Veteran. 13

14 Working as a Team Some insights (USMC Veteran). 14

15 Working as a Team How I define success. Taxpayers clearly & properly understand how assessments relate to taxes. Everyone eligible for an exemption has taken it/them. All townships and Boone County strictly adhere to the PTC. The Boone County BoR strictly adheres to its Rules. All of you received multi-year bonuses. 15

16 Working as a Team How we will achieve success. 16

17 Working as a Team How we will achieve success. 1. Absolute adherence to the Illinois Property Tax Code & IL Admin. Code. 17

18 Working as a Team How we will achieve success. 2. Develop market-based valuations (improve accuracy). 18

19 Working as a Team How we will achieve success. 3. Achieve uniformity (improve fairness). 19

20 Working as a Team How will we achieve that success. Maintaining the status quo is not an option. My perception of the status quo: some assessments are made "top down" by allocating the tentative equalizer among parcels. Some decisions are made on opinion vs. the PTC. 20

21 Three Levels of Guidance Directives. Based on the PTC, IL Admin. Rules and BoR Rules. We must/will adhere to them. Recommendations. Based on our success at Grafton, 15 years of appraisal and three decades of valuation experience. Suggestions. Based on sound theory, best practices and common sense. 21

22 Three Levels of Guidance The problem is... Common sense is not so common. Voltaire. 22

23 Absolute Compliance Fairness Taxpayer trust. Accuracy which permits Compliance allows The three concepts are truly inter-twined. 23

24 Absolute Compliance PTC IL Administrative Code BoR Rules Lawful directives from our office 24

25 Absolute Compliance Directive All assessments should be made bottom up using market data germane to that specific neighborhood. Top down allocation of Tentative Equalizers is not an accurate indication of value. 25

26 Absolute Compliance How does the PTC say you should determine value? Does the PTC mention approaches to value? Cannot mix approaches to value. Walsh v. PTAB 26

27 Absolute Compliance 9-75: revision of assessments. Allows annual assessments if "just." Why we can perform annual (versus quadrennial) assessments. Not a black and white issue. Albee v. Soat, 315 Ill.App.3d 388 (2nd Dist. 2000). 27

28 A reality check. Absolute Compliance : Limitation on Department review of individual assessments. Nothing in this Code shall be construed to give the Department any power, jurisdiction or authority to review, revise, correct or change any individual assessment made by any local assessment officer. 28

29 Absolute Compliance "Nuclear option." Authority to revise assessments (9-80). 29

30 Absolute Compliance Office operations Can your Township Boards determine Assessor staff personnel? (2-20) Does anyone here need a personnel manual? (2-65) When do your budgets have to be submitted? (2-30) Can your Township Boards direct you to use specific software or computers? (2-20) 30

31 Absolute Compliance Office operations Regarding budgets, how little is too little? (2-80) Should your Township Boards reimburse your continuing education? (2-80) Can your Township Board tell you what property record system to use? (9-30) Be sure your Township Boards understand the gravity of what you do! I do solemnly swear that the book or books... (9-230 affidavit) 31

32 Absolute Compliance BoR Rules carry almost as much weight as the PTC. Violate a BoR Rule and you might/will likely lose your case or worse get it dismissed. Violate a PTC statute and... How many times is "misdemeanor" stated in the PTC? 32

33 Absolute Compliance As if that wasn't scary enough... How many times is "felony" stated in the PTC? What else carries the weight of the PTC? Illinois Administrative Code. Specifically Title 86. Revenue, Part 110. Property Tax Code 33

34 Absolute Compliance ( ) 34

35 Kick-off Interactive Project Review 35

36 Separation of Responsibilities TSAs: discover, list, assess. (9-155, -160) SA: handles homestead exemptions and ensures PTC compliance. SA oversees TSAs numbers. (9-210) BoR: sets final values and reviews nonhomestead exemptions. BoR oversees SA s numbers (6-5). 36

37 Separation of Responsibilities SA office s neutrality on appeals. Fairness: cannot, will not, take sides. Appellants provide evidence. TSAs provide evidence. BoR rules on the evidence. SA s office only takes notes and maintains records. Three separate books. Three distinct affidavits. 37

38 Office Interactions and Integration Directive regarding Abstracts. Required valuation guidance. (a) Each tract or lot of property shall be valued at 33 1/3% of its fair cash value. (9-145) 1% valuation change year-over-year within a property class. Radical parcel changes (demo, fire). Major reclassifications. Other category reclassifications. 38

39 Equalizers Office Interactions and Integration Their requirement is stated in the PTC and Section of the Admin. Code. Per the previous directive, EQs cannot be used as any means of valuation. Why? EQs look back, the market looks forward. 39

40 Equalizers Office Interactions and Integration Can township assessors equalize? Should township assessors equalize? 40

41 Equalizers Office Interactions and Integration Must SAs equalize? (9-210) shall act shall equalize shall apply to all property except farm and coal properties 41

42 Equalizers Office Interactions and Integration Uniformity does not require the SA to EQ all townships using the same method. Neighborhood. Property class. Entire township. 42

43 Equalizers Office Interactions and Integration Please educate taxing bodies EQs are solely corrective; they are not valuation factors. Upping budgets the same as the EQ is not a zero-sum process! 43

44 Office Interactions and Integration Enterprise Zone reports. Required input. Weekly inspection and permit report. An Excel file will be ed weekly. Complaint form modification discussion. 44

45 Timeliness Assessment book submittal impacts. Tentative abstracts. Tentative EQ. PTELL guidance by the County Clerk. BoR hearings. Final abstracts. State EQ. Tax extension et al. 45

46 Timeliness Theoretically, books are due: TSAs June 1 (9-155, 9-160). June 15 (9-230). SA Third Monday in June (9-245). BoR January 1 (9-235). 46

47 Property Record Card Accuracy Directive. Accurate property card data. (9-155) Includes pictures. Every four years is a minimum. Site visits should be undertaken whenever significant valuation issues occur. Weekly permit reports will be somewhat helpful. Applies to farm reallocations (GIS). 47

48 General Recommendations Become conversant and eventually compliant with Standard Rule 6 of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). And perhaps USPAP in general Cell towers have their own PIN. Valuation is based on the easement, not the tangible property. Cell towers are tangible, not real, property. IN RE COUNTY COLLECTOR, 952 N.E.2d 57 (2011), Appellate Court of Illinois, Third District. 48

49 General Recommendations Correction Request (CR) form. 49

50 General Recommendations Land valuation. Must be consistent (uniformity). Site value for residential parcels. Use only the minimal number of categories applicable to that NH. Front-foot for commercial parcels and major lake frontage. Square-foot for industrial parcels. 50

51 General Recommendations Improvement valuation. Use the appropriate ANSI specification for measurements. Residential = American National Standard Z : Method for Calculating the Square Footage of Single-Family Residential Buildings. 51

52 General Recommendations 52

53 General Recommendations Please consider: Using the sales comparison approach for residential parcels. Using the income approach for commercial parcels. Creating neighborhoods defined by the market not building type. Creating and maintaining a Township and Neighborhood Synopsis as a reference for the BoR. 53

54 General Recommendations Please consider: Developing professional, compelling cover sheets for your appeal defenses for the BoR and PTAB. Using a spreadsheet for efficiency, ease, compelling evidence and professionalism in your appeal defense. Developing and implementing quality control checklists. Checklists are stepping stones to a replicable process. 54

55 General Recommendations 55

56 General Recommendations 56

57 General Suggestions Consider a drone. Really low-cost (well under $500). Easy to use. Be aware of FAA requirements. Consider PAMS as a replacement for ProVal. Multiple open instances. Lower cost and much better support. Very easy and persuasive BoR evidence. Considering it as a Devnet replacement. 57

58 General Guidance Please know, and fully understand, what you're doing. Please don t blindly follow what you ve been taught. Accuracy, credibility and professionalism are paramount. It s your name on the affidavit. Township consolidation (2-5)? 58

59 Closing Comments We're valuation professionals not social engineers. Our focus and decisions must be solely on valuation and PTC compliance. Beyond accuracy and fairness, property taxes are out of our hands. 59

60 Closing Comments I warmly welcome your thoughts, suggestions, guidance and even complaints. You're elected officials outside my control. I hope to earn your trust, gain your respect and thereby warrant a leadership role. No one can adequately perform this role without your knowledge, help and expertise. 60

61 Closing Comments A goal we should jointly work hard and together toward. Providing the BoR with sufficient confidence to take the bold yet measured step of expanding its Rules to include something similar to Wisconsin Statute 70.47(8)(i): The board shall presume that the assessor's valuation is correct. That presumption may be rebutted by a sufficient showing by the objector that the valuation is incorrect. 61

62 Review of the Addendum, Open Questions and General Discussion. 62