EYES. Flash Flood. Murder She Wrote. Fall Conference 2012 F A L L. Stigma Properties. Review. Disaster Re-Assessment: Carlton County

Transcription

1 F A L L V o l u m e EQUAL 34 N u m b e r EYES 130 Also in this issue: Global Assessment Trends Couple Builds Cordwood House Meet Steve Carlson Commissioner Myron Frans talks assessor training Words from President Baker Catch up with Bruce Stepnick What s new with the: CAMA/GIS Committee Official Publication of the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers Plus much more! Flash Flood Disaster Re-Assessment: Carlton County Murder She Wrote Stigma Properties Fall Conference 2012 Review

2 Volume 34 Number 130 Fall 2012 Features 23 Carlton County Floods of 2012 CLICK ME! 26 Property Tax Working Group Update I M INTERACTIVE! 27 Murder She Wrote... Article to suggest, letter to the editor, or any other correspondence for EQUAL EYES? Send to: Equal Eyes Managing Editor 16 3rd Ave E Ada, MN editor@mnmaao.org 30 Global Assessment Trends: China 33 Cordwood Dream Home 41 Fall Conference Departments 3 Boards, Directors, Chairs, and Representatives 23 6 In The Know 7 Presidential Perspective 9 Commissioner s Comments 10 International Items NCRAAO Update 12 MAAP Update 13 Out of the Past 14 Let s Get Acquainted 16 Meet the new SAMA & AMA designees 19 Course Reviews State Board of Assessors Minutes Cover Photo: Flooded Park Image Courtesy of Marci Moreland Visit the MAAO website at: The statements made or opinions expressed by authors in Equal Eyes do not necessarily represent a policy position of the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers. 36 Transitions 37 Revisiting the Retirees 38 The Chair s Corner 40 Classif-Eyeds 45 What s New on the MAAO Website 47 A Letter From the Editor 2 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

3 EQUAL EYES Editorial Board James Haley, AMA Norman County Managing Editor, Chair Lori Thingvold, AMA Wright County Associate Editor Solomon Akanki, AMA Scott County Corey Erickson, AMA Ramsey County Nancy Gunderson, SAMA Clay County Julie Gustafson, SAMA City of Maple Grove Jake Pidde, CMA City of Plymouth Michael Stalberger, SAMA Blue Earth County Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 3

4 First Vice President John Keefe, SAMA Chisago County Assessor 313 N Main St, Room 246 Center City, MN Fax jekeefe@co.chisago.mn.us MAAO Executive Board President Stephen Baker, SAMA, CAE Ramsey County Assessor 90 West Plato Blvd, Suite 400 St. Paul, MN Fax stephen.l.baker@co.ramsey.mn.us Second Vice President Marvin Anderson, SAMA Brooklyn Park City Assessor th Ave N Brooklyn Park, MN Fax marvin.anderson@brooklynpark.org Finance Officer Bill Peterson, SAMA, CAE Dakota County Assessor 1590 Hwy 55, County Admin Center Hastings, MN Fax bill.peterson@co.dakota.mn.us Past President Cheryl Wall, SAMA Wilkin County Assessor PO Box 167 Breckenridge, MN Fax cwall@co.wilkin.mn.us Region 1 Ryan Rasmusson, SAMA Freeborn County Assessor ryan.rasmusson@co.freeborn.mn.us Region 4 Kyle Holmes, SAMA Carlton County Deputy Assessor kyle.holmes@co.carlton.mn.us Region 7 Bob Hansen, SAMA Hubbard County Assessor bob.hansen@co.hubbard.mn.us MAAO Region Directors Region 2 Dave Armstrong, SAMA Le Sueur County Assessor darmstrong@co.le-sueur.mn.us Region 5 Gale Bondhus, SAMA Cottonwood County Assessor gale.bondhus@co.cottonwood.mn.us Region 8 Joseph Skerik, AMA Beltrami Chief Deputy County Assessor joe.skerik@co.beltrami.mn.us Region 3 Greg Kramber, SAMA Wright County Assessor greg.kramber@co.wright.mn.us Region 6 Bob Anderson, SAMA Meeker County Assessor bob.anderson@co.meeker.mn.us Region 9 Angie Johnson, SAMA Carver County Assessor ajohnson@co.carver.mn.us Department of Revenue Property Tax Compliance Officers and the Areas They Represent Lloyd McCormick Appraisal Supervisor Gary Amundson Anoka, Benton, Carver, Chisago, Hennepin, Isanti, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Wright Brad Averbeck Becker, Clay, Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, Todd, Wadena Larry Austin Aitkin, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Cook, Crow Wing, Itasca, Kanabec, Koochiching, Lake, Lake of the Woods, Pine, St. Louis Steve Hurni Big Stone, Chippewa, Douglas, Grant, Kandiyohi, McLeod, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin (and compliance investigations) Sherri Kitchenmaster Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, Watonwan, Yellow Medicnine Tom Nash Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Le Sueur, Mower, Nicollet, Sibley, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, Winona Tom Reineke Dakota, Goodhue, Olmsted, Ramsey, Scott, Washington, Rice (and complex properties) 4 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

5 Committee Chairs/Coordinators/Secretary/Treasurer Agricultural Chair Jeanne Henderson, CMAS Business Center Dr Elk River, MN Fax Membership Coordinator Jan Olsson, SAMA, RES 3400 Plymouth Blvd Plymouth, MN Fax Scholarship Coordinator Tina Diedrich-Von Eschen, SAMA 705 Courthouse Square Room 37 St. Cloud, MN Fax CAMA / GIS Chair Randy Lahr, SAMA 705 Courthouse Sq #37 St. Cloud, MN Fax Nominating Chair Michelle Moen, SAMA th Ave SW Cambridge, MN Fax Secretary/Treasurer Nancy Wojcik, SAMA 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway Brooklyn Center, MN Fax Conference Coordinator Paul Knutson, SAMA, RES 320 NW 3rd St, Ste 4 Faribault, MN Fax Online Administrator Lori Schwendemann, SAMA 600 6th Street Madison, MN Fax Silent Auction Jane Grossinger, SAMA MN HWY 15 Kimball, MN Asst. Conf. Coordinator Tami Paulson, CMA 151 4th Street SE Rochester, MN Fax PVC Coordinator Dan Whitman, SAMA Security Bldg 201 Lake Ave #326 Fairmont, MN Fax Site Selection Chair Luis Rosario, SAMA 90 West Plato Blvd St. Paul, MN Fax Education Chair Bob Wilson, SAMA, CAE, ASA 4801 W 50th St Edina, MN Fax Strategic Planning Chair Cheryl Wall, SAMA PO Box 167 Breckenridge, MN Fax Summer Seminar Coordinator Kim Jensen, SAMA, CAE A-2103 Government Center Minneapolis, MN Fax Information Systems Chair Teresa Mitchell, SAMA, CAE 1590 Hwy 55, County Admin Center Hastings, MN Fax Rules and Resolutions Chair Steve Sinell, SAMA 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN Tax Court & Valuations Chair Cory Bultema, SAMA 5005 Minnetonka Blvd St. Louis Park, MN Fax Legislative Chair William Effertz, SAMA PO Box 890, 630 Florence Ave Owatonna, MN Fax Sales Ratio Chair John Keefe, SAMA 313 N Main St Center City, MN Fax Weeklong Course Chair David Armstrong, SAMA 88 South Park Avenue Le Center, MN Fax Long Range Planning Chair William Effertz, SAMA PO Box 890, 630 Florence Ave Owatonna, MN Fax Scholarship Chair Cheryl Wall, SAMA PO Box 167 Breckenridge, MN Fax Weeklong Course Coordinators Bob Wilson, SAMA, CAE, ASA 4801 W 50th St Edina, MN Fax Tina Diedrich-VonEschen, SAMA 705 Courthouse Sq Room 37 St. Cloud, MN Fax Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 5

6 6 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

7 Presidential Perspective Focusing on Education This is already my last letter to my fellow members as President. First, I want to thank everyone for their faith and trust in making me your president for Secondly, I again want to plant the idea that this may be the year for you to take a more active role in MAAO activities. Participation can take many forms, and I know from personal experience that the more you get involved in MAAO the more rewarding your association with MAAO will become. Since we are at the beginning of a new continuing education cycle this seems a good time to focus on education. I am confident that we all agree that it is appropriate and necessary for all licensed Minnesota assessors to stay abreast of developments in our field, to stay sharp, and to keep our appraisal skills current; we do this through daily use, interaction with peers, and through continuing education. So as we begin a new four year cycle I suggest we all take an inventory of our professional needs, review the classes we have taken in the previous cycle and make a conscious plan for the education we desire to take this coming four years. I suggest that all of us benefit from taking at least one week-long course each cycle. And yes that means taking a test too. Written by Stephen Baker, SAMA Ramsey County Assessor MAAO President MAAO Education Committee and Weeklong Course Committees, chaired by Bob Wilson and Dave Armstrong, are planning a new week long course that will be offered in This course will focus on commercial property appraisal. It is being written by Tom Reineke, MN DOR Property Tax Compliance Officer. Another topic: How much education should be required of us by the Minnesota Board of Assessors? Or, perhaps the better question is: How much education should we require of ourselves and of our staffs? State requirements are minimums and we should always strive to have all the education needed to be competent to perform the work for which we are responsible. This may mean we need to take more training than the required minimum. Another factor in how much education is enough is the perception of our industry by officials, legislators and our customers. A couple of years ago assessors got involved in a debate with some elected officials in the Minnesota Legislature over whether our licensed assessors are in fact competent and whether we have training and education equal to private appraisers licensed by the Department of Commerce. At stake in the debate was whether our assessorappraisers would be allowed to testify in tax court as experts. Yes we prevailed in the end, and we obtained the revisions to the statutory duties of an assessor that allow us to continue to testify as experts in tax court. However, the level of the debate, and the tenor of the debate caught many of us by surprise. I believe the lesson we must take from this experience is that we must be ever vigilant that our assessor licensing standards, training and experience requirements, and education requirements are more than adequate to meet intense scrutiny from outsiders, even by the most cynical of our society. In that vein I will show a comparison of our education requirements to the requirements for private appraisers in Minnesota (See Graph). So, it seems that generally the current education requirements for Minnesota Assessors compare favorably to Department of Commerce requirements for private appraisers. The exception might be for initial licensing of SAMA s and for continuing education of all licensed assessors. Perhaps our continuing education requirement should be increased by 20 hours (think two-thirds of Pace). If we all MN Assessors License Level Required Hours Education MN Appraiser License Level Required Hours Education Provisional License 120 hours Trainee 75 Hours Certified Minnesota Assessor Accredited Minnesota Assessor Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor 120 hours Licensed 150 Hours 255 Hours Certified Residential Appraiser 200 Hours 255 Hours Certified General Appraiser 300 Hours Continuing Education hours every four years Continuing Education 30 hours every two years (60 hours every 4 years) Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 7

8 Presidential Perspective, continued take a similar amount of appraisal courses as in the past, plus PACE, we would have then 70 or 80 hours of education (depending on license level) each four year period. The comparison suggests that the required education for SAMA should be increased by one weeklong course. This fall make a four-year education plan for yourself, and ask your staff to do the same. As classes are scheduled, select the courses that meet your long term objectives. Don t be limited by licensing requirements, take more education not less, and try to take a weeklong course each four-year period. Bottom line keep improving your skills, lifelong learning and challenge yourself by taking courses that require you to stretch a bit to pass you will be glad you did. Recent MAAO Activity In August the MAAO Executive Board met jointly with the Legislative Committee and the Department of Revenue. It was held in St. Paul. These meetings took place over two days, and included a meeting of the Legislative Committee, a joint meeting of Legislative and Executive Committees, and a joint meeting that included MN DOR Property Tax Director Hagen. The Legislative Committee forwarded a new 2013 MAAO Legislative Position Statement to the Executive Board and it was approved. This Statement is now posted on the Legislative Committee page of the MAAO web site. I encourage all of our members to share this document with your county Inter-Governmental Relations staff and with elected officials with whom you meet. We anticipate that 30% or more of the Legislature will be new this coming session, and with Tax Reform at the forefront of the Governor s initiatives this coming session, educating our new legislators will be an important task this coming year. The session will likely include some surprises for Minnesota Assessors, let s keep them good ones. I want to thank all our committee chairs; it is these people who carry out the work of our Association. Please feel free to call me or me at any time if you have anything you wish to discuss. Our next Organizational meeting of the MAAO Executive Board will be November 1-2, Best Wishes, Stephen Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers Executive Board Meeting Calender: ~ November 1-2, 2012 ~ 8 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

9 Commissioner s Comments Assessor Training is Key to Consistency Written by Myron Frans Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue It is no secret that Minnesota s property tax system is among the most complex in the nation. And Gov. Mark Dayton has asked the Department of Revenue to consider changes he can present to the Legislature in 2013 as part of his overall tax reform package. I have frequently heard that property taxes are too complicated, and too high in tax reform discussions with Minnesotans across the state during the last year. The complexity of our system makes your property assessments more difficult, and harder to explain to property owners when they have questions. It also challenges the department as we try to make sure property is classified and assessed consistently everywhere in Minnesota. We believe that well-educated assessors lead to a fairer, more equitable assessment. That is why the department s Property Tax Division has increasingly focused on education in recent years. The division has a representative on the MAAO Education Committee to help identify future training needs and develop courses to meet them. Other examples of our commitment to education include: We developed training that helps local and county Board of Appeal and Equalization members betterunderstand their duties and how to fulfill them. We created property valuation course materials for county and city assessors across the state to use when training local assessors to promote uniformity. We are updating the Assessment Administration Course to help assessors stay up-to-date on assessment practices, law changes and other topics. We are exploring online webinars and other options that make it easier to view some of our seminars and other training. We are revamping the Professional Assessment Certification and Education Course (PACE) for the new licensing period that began this year. Minnesota law requires all state-licensed assessors at the AMA level or higher to complete the course during each four-year period (M.S ). Education: How much is enough? We are also retooling our Ethics class and removing it from PACE. We will continue to offer the class through the Assessment Laws and Procedures Course (ALP) and as a separate elective for Continuing Education Credits. That way, each Ethics session should have enough experienced assessors to assure we can have meaningful discussions. (When we offered Ethics through PACE, the other sessions didn t draw enough experienced assessors, which limited discussion.) On a related note, the State Board of Assessors has decided that PACE no longer qualifies as an elective for continuing education. This decision takes effect on July 1, As a result, assessors who need to take an additional elective course cannot use PACE to meet that requirement. Proponents of the change said that PACE should not be considered an elective because it is required by state law. This discussion spoke to the issue of whether education requirements for assessors should be upgraded. A case in Tax Court raised this question a few years ago (Shoppes of Woodbury v. Washington County, 2009). The court excluded the county assessor s appraisal report in that case but nonetheless upheld her original property valuation. The department has no position on whether PACE should count as a continuing education elective. But we believe that assessor education is a vital piece of our efforts to promote consistency, which is the foundation of a fair property tax system. We always incorporate feedback from assessors when we formulate or update our training. This year, we will be sending you a survey about the upcoming PACE Course. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts. In the meantime, let us know if you have any ideas on how to improve our property tax system. We are counting on feedback from experts like you as we work on a tax reform package for Gov. Dayton. You can contact me at myron.frans@state.mn.us or Property Tax Division Director John Hagen at john.hagen@state.mn.us. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 9

10 International Items News and Information Written by Jan Olsson, SAMA, RES City of Plymouth Assessor (Retired) The big news from IAAO this time of year is the 78 th Annual International Conference on Assessment Administration. The conference was held in Kansas City, Missouri which also happens to be the headquarters for IAAO. The IAAO staff pulled out all the stops for conference activities. The current issue of Fair and Equitable has an entire selection of IAAO staff picks for their favorite restaurants and activities in Kansas City. President Debra Asbury has been busy traveling the globe visiting foreign countries such as China and attending the quarterly Executive Board meetings as well as many other seminars and conferences. She will be attending our Fall Conference at Breezy Pointe. President Asbury would like to acknowledge that that at the IAAO Conference the Director of Library Services and the Research Librarian performed live, on-site demos on how to use the library Join IAAO Now! IAAO.org catalogue and InfoTrac journal database as well as answered any questions on how to find resources. Larry Clark, Director of Professional Development, is requesting that if you have an IAAO designation please send him your name, date of your designation certificate and the number of that certificate. IAAO wants to ensure their records are accurate and complete. All persons who respond will have their name entered into a drawing for a Fundamentals of Mass Appraisal textbook. IAAO 400-Assessment Administration will be held in Plymouth, MN October 15-19, Registration for the class can be made through the MAAO website. Handy tools that can be found on the IAAO website for members include: Quick Links, What s New, Upcoming Meetings and Events, AssessorNet, F&E Digital Edition, Reference Desk, Job Opportunities, Technical Standards, Member Lookup and Scholarships. A drawing for one year of FREE membership for IAAO will be held at the MAAO Annual Fall Conference. Stop by and visit with your IAAO Representatives: Stephen Baker, Bill Peterson, Tom May and Jan Olsson! KEY REASONS TO BECOME AN IAAO MEMBER Education: Cost effective education programs help you meet the challenges of an increasingly complex career. IAAO offers a range of educational opportunities for the beginner to seasoned professional. Textbooks are known for their depth and quality of information. Professional Designations: Receive certification that recognizes professionalism, and competency in matters regarding property appraisal and assessment for property tax purposes. Publications: Fair & Equitable and Journal of Property Tax Administration IAAO s monthly and quarterly publications bring you up-to-the-minute perspectives and research on today s assessment issues. Members-only Access and Discounts: Receive special rates on publications, text books, technical standards, seminars, and conference registration. Utilize special sections and resources on the IAAO Website including access to the library through memberlink and the Glossary for Property Appraisal and Assessment. IAAO Conferences, Seminars, and Meetings Event Location Dates Leadership Days Meeting Kansas City, Missouri October 19-20, 2012 Executive Board Meeting Tampa, Florida November 9-10, rd Legal Seminar Chicago, Illinois December 13-14, 2012 GIS/CAMA Tech. Conference Albuquerque, New Mexico March 4-7, 2013 IAAO 79 th Annual Conference Grand Rapids, Michigan August 25-28, 2013 IAAO 80 th Annual Conference Sacramento, California August 24-27, 2014 IAAO 81 st Annual Conference Indianapolis, Indiana September IAAO 82 nd Annual Conference Tampa, Florida August 28-31, Equal Eyes Fall 2012

11 NCRAAO News 37th Annual NCRAAO Conference Kansas City, MO Written by Cheryl Wall Wilkin County Assessor NCRAAO Representative Minnesota NCRAAO Directors Stephen Baker, Ramsey County Assessor, MAAO President Cheryl Wall, Wilkin County Assessor, MAAO Immed.Past President Dave Armstrong, La Sueur County Assessor, MAAO Past President The 37 th Annual NCRAAO Conference was held in Kansas City, Missouri June th There were 117 attendees representing all member states. A really big thank you goes out to the vendors who contribute so much to the success of this conference. Course offerings included; GIS Workshop, Vanguard Appraisals/Sidwell, Promoting Your Office, Valuation of Restaurants, Practical Application of Ratio Studies & Proposed Change, Oil & Gas Roundtable, and Golf Course Valuation-Market Rent Method of Income Approach. The conference also included a Director s meeting in which President Scot Van Meter of Buchanan County Missouri reported on the financial details of the conference. The NCRAAO Board of Directors experimented with something new this year in an effort to bring in new interest; granting 22 free conference registrations throughout their member states. Only six were used this year, but they will plan to offer them again next year. The Annual Director s meeting for NCRAAO was held in Fargo August 10 th. Kevin Ternes, CAE, Minot City Assessor, became NCRAAO President at the conclusion of this meeting. Kevin reported on the details for the 2013 Annual Conference, which will be held June 16-19, 2013 in Fargo, ND. If there is interest from Minnesota in attending this conference, they would be willing to accommodate our members with additional lodging in Moorhead, MN. I did discuss with the Board, one of the issues Minnesota assessors have with attending their conference is the timing. With Minnesota County Board of Appeal and Equalization meetings being held in June, it clearly is a conflict with NCRAAO conferences. Due to the fact that their conference schedule is set through 2014, there won t be any changes to the dates it is offered until planning begins for June may be a conflict for Minnesota but there were conflicts at other times of the calendar year for many other member states as well. I also held discussion with the members of the Board in regards to acquiring geospatial data from their local FSA offices. The MAAO Executive Board meeting held in August involved discussion on this matter and it was suggested that I inquire with our region states on the matter. There did not seem to be a great desire to acquire this data by the members present at the NCRAAO Board meeting. Not all create their assessment from FSA data. In Iowa, some are including a FSA data release on the Land Survey letter mailed to property owners on a regular basis. Once the owner signs that release for the assessor, they are able to gain access to what they need for land data. Mark your Calendars! The 2014 NCRAAO Conference will be held in Deadwood, South Dakota June The local host committee for this conference is already working hard to create a wonderful experience for all. Upcoming NCRAAO Conferences 2013 Fargo, North Dakota 2014 Deadwood, Souuth Dakota 2015 Wisconsin 2016 Iowa Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 11

12 MAAP Update Written by MItzi Wicklund CIty of Edina MAAP President Steele County Free Fair Revelers! MAAP held its annual Summer Seminar on August 16-17, 2012 at the Owatonna Holiday Inn. The event was well attended and we were fortunate to have good weather during our free time to explore the Owatonna area and/or attend the Steele County Free Fair. Presenters for this year s seminar were from the Department of Revenue; Heather Bestler, Jessi Glancey and Andrea Fish. The presentations detailed specific information for administrators as well as assessors. Clever independent and group activities reinforced knowledge of a session s theme. DOR presentations also included tips on how to most effectively use the DOR website and where to find all the DOR information sheets. An opportunity was also provided to take the DOR tax calculation exam. New officer elections occurred during the luncheon business meeting. MAAP members congratulated and welcomed newly elected Vice President Janet Kaschmitter, two Education Committee Members at Large Mike Hammerschmidt and Theresa Quinn and President Mitzi Wicklund. Mitzi will complete the remainder of former Vice President and incoming President Krista Krupa s term. MAAP wishes Krista all the best in her new position as an assessor with Kandiyohi County. MAAO provided scholarships for recipients to use toward MAAP s 2013 seminar registration. They were awarded randomly during prize drawings throughout the seminar. Recipients include; Carrie Bralick, Laura Lutz, Joy Micheaelson, Mary Pekarek, Marcia Hills and Shirley Olson. Thank you MAAO for continuing to support MAAP! Interested in Joining MAAP? Membership is only $10 Contact a MAAP Officer MAAP Officers Mitzi Wicklund President City of Edina mwicklund@edinamn.gov Janet Kaschmitter Vice President Stearns County janet.kaschmitter@co.stearns.mn.us Shayla Strack Secretary/Treasurer Morrison County ShaylaS@co.morrison.mn.us Melissa Janzen Past President Wright County Melissa.janzen@co.wright.mn.us Christie Fox Education Committee Member at Large Blue Earth County Christie.fox@co.blue-earth.mn.us Michael Hammerschmidt Education Committee Member at Large Kandiyohi County mike_h@co.kandiyohi.mn.us Theresa Quinn Education Committee Member at Large Sherburne County Theresa.quinn@co.sherburne.mn.us Joy Michaelson Conference Coordinator Stevens County joymichaelson@co.stevens.mn.us 12 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

13 Out of the Past Written by Corey Erickson, AMA Ramsey County Editorial Committee Member 5 Years Ago 2007 The popular TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition featured the 7 day rebuild of a home in Minnetonka. Eden Prairie City Assessor Steve Sinell wrote about how his city has changed since he came to work for the city in For example, in 1980 Eden Prairie had 9,000 parcels with a total value of $528 million compared to 2007 totals of 22,285 parcels with a value of $9.97 billion. The MAAO Scholarship Committee awarded scholarships to Karl Lindquist and Justin Massmann, both students at St. Cloud State University. IAAO President Marion Johnson awarded the Zangerlie Award to Equal Eyes Editor Rebecca Malmquist at the annual conference in Atlanta. 10 Years Ago 2002 In a study developed by Beacon Hill Institute, Minnesota ranked ninth among the 50 states in an economic competitiveness survey. Roseau County Assessor Jim Hanson led the disaster reassessment of properties damaged from summer flooding. Fifteen assessors from seven counties volunteered to help. Commissioner of Revenue, Matt Smith, wrote about the 2003 scheduled expiration of the popular This Old House value exclusion program. Reed Heidelberger filled the Deputy City Assessor position opening in the City of Alexandria and Luanne Herber retired as an appraiser from Mille Lacs County. Her career also included working as an appraiser for Kanabec County. Patrick Todd, Dan Boris and Denise Ligwall were promoted to Real Estate Supervisors for the City of Minneapolis. 15 Years Ago 1997 Dale Halos retired as the Polk County Assessor and was replaced by Robert Wagner. Tim Falkum became the Meeker County Assessor and Mitchel Fridow became the Assessor for Freeborn County. The 50 th annual MAAO Fall Conference was held in Minneapolis, where DOR Property Tax Division Director, Mike Wandmacher, discussed the need for uniformity in applying property tax laws. Assistant Director of Property Tax Assessment Administration, Jerry Garski, retired after 34 years with the Department of Revenue. Rick Petersburg, Chief Commercial Appraiser for the City of Bloomington, accepted the position of Edina City Assessor. 20 Years Ago 1992 The Mall of America opened on August 11, The question from the Bloomington City Assessor s Office was, Will it be successful, and how are we going to value it? Prudential Insurance Company, and other institutional real estate owners, auctioned off about $30 million worth of Twin Cities real estate for about $12.2 million. The United States Supreme Court ruled that California s Proposition 13 does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Doreen Pehrson of Nicollet County, Judy Dold of the City of Coon Rapids and Julie Roisen of Freeborn County were awarded their CAE designations by IAAO. 25 Years Ago 1987 The first Income Demonstration Appraisal Workshop was offered by MAAO. The workshop was developed and taught by Scott Renne, and, you guessed it, Steve Behrenbrinker. Commissioner of Revenue, Tom Triplett, recommended a formal Code of Conduct for Assessors after a Board of Assessors investigation showed wrongdoing by the Wabasha County Assessor. 40 Years Ago 1972 A new valuation notice entitled The Increase in Value Notice was used for the first time. This notice reported both the new value and the amount of increase. This resulted in the City of Minneapolis having 2,580 people at their local board of review. At the time, normal attendance was closer to 50 people. More than 100 Minnesotans traveled to Boston for the IAAO conference. Either budgets were more generous in 1972 or traveling was a lot less expensive. Probably a combination of both. MAAO recommended to the State Legislature that the State Board of Assessors be given the authority to establish minimum salary requirements for assessors throughout the state. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 13

14 Let s Get Acquainted Steve Carlson Researched and Written by Julie Gustafson, SAMA City of Maple Grove Editorial Committee Member According to Tom Vilsack, U.S Secretary of Agriculture, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers in the past forty years. Today, only nine percent of family farm income comes from farming, and more and more of our farmers are looking elsewhere for their primary source of income. Steve Carlson is one of those farmers that, despite their love for the land, saw the need to transition into another career. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you re a thousand miles from the corn field. Lucky for us Steve chose to transition into the field of assessing. Steve grew up on a farm in northwestern Minnesota with seven siblings. Having an interest in farming, Steve remained in his hometown of McIntosh, Minnesota, moving only five miles west of his childhood home, and became a farmer. He was the only child to follow in his father s footsteps. According to Steve, all of his siblings were smart and left town. As a farmer, Steve grew small grains and raised livestock on the 640 acre farm where he currently resides. For Metro (city) folk that may sound like a huge farm. However, in Northwestern Minnesota it is too small to compete in today s farming industry. While farming, Steve also served on the local Township Board. As a Board member, Steve attended Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meetings. It was during one of these meetings that the County Assessor at that time, impressed with Steve s understanding and knowledge of the assessing process, recruited him to become a local assessor. After giving this some thought, Steve decided to pursue obtaining certification as a Minnesota assessor. Although Steve enjoyed farming, it was difficult to make a good living by farming alone. Consequently, in 1990 Steve accepted a position as local assessor in Polk County. Initially, Steve worked as a local assessor and farmed. In 1997, Steve transitioned from farmer and part- time assessor to full time assessor. With livestock prices dropping and insufficient land to grow enough small grains to make a living, Steve rented out his farm and took a full time appraiser position with Polk County. He performed residential and commercial appraisal work for Polk County until he was hired as Becker County Assessor in June of this year. Becker County is located in west central Minnesota, and is situated in the heart of what is known as Park Region. It is considered one of the State s most beautiful and versatile recreation areas. Becker County has more than 400 lakes and encompasses 1,440 square miles. Extensive tourism accounts for the largest employment in the County. Becker County has approximately 30,000 taxable and 3,400 exempt parcels. Forty three percent of Becker County s parcels are residential, 29% seasonal, 19% agricultural, and the remaining ones are a mixture of commercial, industrial, and apartments. It is divided into 37 townships with Detroit Lakes as the county seat, and is home to the Chippewa Indian s White Earth Reservation. The Becker County Assessor s Office consists of five office staff members, three of which perform some appraisal work. It also contracts with seven local assessors. According to Steve, he has a very good seasoned appraisal staff. Steve shared a couple memorable situations encountered on the job. One in particular stands out in his mind. It was mid-morning on a cold December day when he knocked on the door of the home he was inspecting. A woman answered the door in her t-shirt. As she bent over to pick up her dog, he realized that was all she was wearing. Out of surprise, Steve took a step back, and fell backwards into a snow bank. Steve quickly stood up, brushed off his clothes and informed the woman that he had all he needed. Sometimes we get more than we bargain for in this job. Another time he was inspecting a run-down farm. As he approached the farmhouse in his car, he noticed a gun leaning against the door. This in itself is not necessarily unusual in outstate Minnesota. He knocked on the door, called out, but no one answered so he headed back to his car. As Steve turned to get in his car he felt the hair on his neck raise as he noticed that the gun was suddenly missing. Needless to say, he quickly departed. Steve has been a MAAO member for the past twelve years and served on the Agricultural Committee for many years. Unfortunately, his position on the committee terminated upon his transfer from Region Eight to Region Seven. Steve enjoyed his time on this committee, and believes his personal experience as a farmer served him and the committee well. He was able to provide insight regarding farming, and had a good understanding of the issues at hand. 14 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

15 Let s Get Acquainted, continued According to Steve, the most satisfying aspect of his job as an assessor is the relationships developed along the way. The hardest part of his recent job change was the many friends he left behind. Despite our brief acquaintance, I have no doubt Steve s circle of friends will expand with his new job. To him, the biggest challenge in this field is educating the public. In particular, trying to explain what we do and why to people that refuse to listen and/or don t want to understand. While being our biggest challenge, it is also one of our most critical roles as assessors. When done well, the public is happier and our jobs become easier. Steve met his wife, Devra, in high school and they were married shortly after graduating. Devra is a nurse and works at Essentia Health Hospital in Fosston as Director of Patient Care. Interestingly, while Steve moved five miles west, Devra moved five miles east of her childhood home to the farm where they still reside. They have been married for 38 years and have two children: Jason, age 37, and Jessica, age 34. They have five grandchildren. Jason and his wife, Nicki, have a two year old son name Charlie. Jessica and her husband, Darrin, have four children: Sidney, age 11, Steven, age 9, Sawyer, age 7 and Stratton, age 5. When asked to describe himself in a few words, Steve indicated it was a hard thing to do, but summed himself up as a fun loving, hard worker. He believes in working hard, but having a little fun while you re at it. Outside of work, Steve enjoys yard work, in particular gardening. He said it s the farmer in him. When asked what he grows he was quick to say If you can t eat it, I don t want to grow it. Steve grows a large variety of vegetables. This year he is experimenting with growing sweet potatoes. He leaves the flower gardening up to his wife. Steve also enjoys golfing and is on a men s golf league. Between the league and other golf outings, he fits in at least a couple games a week at his local golf course. During the winter months, Steve dabbles in wine making. What started out as his wife s interest, through default, became his winter hobby. Steve has been perfecting his craft for ten years now making wine from a variety of grape juices. He has a few favorites, but likes to experiment as well. He makes just enough for personal use. When his wine supply starts to dwindle, he makes some more. No Trader Joe s two-buck chuck for him. Looking to the future, Steve sees himself remaining in Becker County until retirement. Upon retiring he hopes to travel outside the Midwest. Steve has already been out West so he would like to visit the East Coast and take in some history. When asked if there was anything else he would like to share, Steve responded That s pretty much my life. What do you get when you combine a good-natured personality, the work ethic of a farmer, and a good understanding of Minnesota s complex property tax system? Steve Carlson. Do you have someone in mind for Let s Get Acquainted? Then we want to hear from you! your suggestion to: Editor@mnmaao.org Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 15

16 Meet Minnesota s New SAMA & AMA Designees Written by Jake Pidde, CMA City of Plymouth Editorial Committee Member New Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessors Jamie Freeman Justin Massmann Jamie Freeman, Clearwater County, was awarded the SAMA designation on May 21, Her coursework includes Courses A, H, K, IAAO 102, USPAP and a successful challenge to Courses B and J. Ms. Freeman s form report passed the grading committee in January 2010 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in April She had a successful oral interview with the board in May Ms. Freeman passed the Income Case Study Exam in March 2012 and she has eight years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Jamie! Justin Massmann, Hennepin County, was awarded the SAMA designation on May 21, His coursework includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Mass Appraisal Basics, Assessment Administration, USPAP, IAAO 102 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from St. Cloud State University. He had a successful oral interview with the board in May Mr Massmann passed the Income Case Study Exam in March 2012 and he has five years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Justin! Dianne Reinart Dianne Reinart, Traverse County, was awarded the SAMA designation on May 21, Her education includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Residential Appraisal Principles, Residential Appraisal Procedures, Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value, Minnesota Assessment Administration, IAAO 151, Management and Supervision, and IAAO 102. Ms. Reinart s form report passed the grading committee in September 2009, and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in June Ms. Reinart had a successful oral interview with the board in November 2010 and she passed the Income Case Study Exam in April Ms. Reinart has five years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Dianne! 16 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

17 New AMA s, continued New Accredited Minnesota Assessors Cynthia Bowman Cynthia Bowman, City of Plymouth, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, Her education includes Courses A, B, H (elective), Basic Income Approach to Value, IAAO 102, IAAO 151 and MAAO Assessment Administration. Ms. Bowman s form report passed the grading committee in April 2010 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in June Ms. Bowman has assessment experience since April Congratulations to you Cindy! Mike Cebulla Mike Cebulla, Stearns County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Courses A, B, Mass Appraisal Basics (elective), J, IAAO 102, 151, and Assessment Administration. His form report passed the grading committee in April 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in September Mr. Cebulla has 8 years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Mike! Shayne Bender Shayne Bender, LeSueur County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Courses A, H, J, IAAO 102, 15 hour USPAP, Management and Supervision and a Bachelors Degree in Real Estate from St. Cloud State University. Mr. Bender has 10 years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Shayne! M. Pete Friedrichsen M. Pete Friedrichsen, Ramsey County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Courses A, B, H, J, K, IAAO 102 and ProSource 105. His form report passed the grading committee in April 2011 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in March Mr. Friedrichsen has 9 years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Pete! Patrick Chapman Patrick Chapman, Ramsey County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, ProSource , Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value, Income Approach to Valuation and Assessment Administration. His form report passed the grading committee in January 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in February Mr. Chapman has eight years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Brian! Chase Peloquin Chase Peloquin, Chisago County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Residential Appraisal Principles, Residential Appraisal Procedures, successful challenges to Mass Appraisal Basics and Basic Income approach to Value, Income Approach to Valuation, Assessment Administration, IAAO 151 and PACE. Mr. Peloquin s form report passed the grading committee in April 2011 and he passed the Residential Case Study Examination in March Mr. Peloquin will have three years of assessment experience effective June 16, Congratulations to you Chase! Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 17

18 New AMA s, continued Jason Heitzinger Jason Heitzinger, Scott County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, a Bachelor of Real Estate Degree from St. Cloud State University (included an income course), Appraiser License number: , a successful challenge to Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach, Assessment Administration and PACE. Mr. Heitzinger has 3 years of assessment experience effective June 1, Congratulations to you Jason! Jason McCaslin Jason McCaslin, Jackson County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, ProSource (alternate to both Residential Appraisal Courses and IAAO 151), Mass Appraisal Basics, Income Approach to Valuation, Basic Income Approach to Value and Assessment Administration. Mr. McCaslin s form report passed the grading committee in April 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam the same month. Mr. McCaslin has 3 years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Jason! Bonnie Crosby Bonnie Crosby, Chippewa County, was awarded the AMA designation on May 21, Her education includes Courses A, B, H, J, K, IAAO 102 and IAAO Her form report passed the grading committee in February 2012 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in March Ms. Crosby has ten years of assessment experience. Congratulations to you Bonnie! To recognize the accomplishments of new AMA and SAMA desginees, we are spotlighting them when awarded by the State Board of Assessors. Are you a new designee? Get your photo ready! 18 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

19 Course Reviews Summer Courses Written by Solomon Akanki, AMA Scott County Editorial Committee Member Assessment Laws and Procedures The 30-hour MAAO Assessment Laws and Procedures Course was held July 16-19, 2012 at the Best Western-Kelly Inn Hotel, St Cloud and had 35 attendees, 34 of which took the exam and one attendee was there for continuing education. One scholarship was awarded. This course is approved for 30 hours of assessor continuing education by the Minnesota Board of Assessors. We are extremely grateful to Drew Imes and Jessi Glancey from the Minnesota Department of Revenue for instructing the ALP. Residential Case Study The 8-hour MAAO Residential Case Study Course (with no exam) was held July 17, 2012 at the Best Western-Kelly Inn, St Cloud and had 25 attendees. They all took the course for licensing requirements. This workshop prepares Assessors for the Minnesota residential form report and property case study exam which is an alternative method of achieving the AMA level of licensure. No scholarships are available for this course which was taught by Teresa Mitchell from Dakota County and Kyle Holmes from Carlton County. This course is approved for 8 hours of continuing education with the Minnesota Board of Assessors. Appraisal Principles The 30-hour MAAO Appraisal Principles Course was held July 23-26, 2012 at the Best Western-Kelly Inn Hotel, St Cloud and had 30 attendees, 29 of which took the exam and one attendee was there for continuing education. Two scholarships were awarded. This course is approved for 30 hours of assessor continuing education by the Minnesota Board of Assessors. We are grateful to Susanne Barkalow for instructing this course. Appraisal Procedures The 30-hour MAAO Appraisal Procedures Course was held August 6-9, 2012 at the Best Western-Kelly Inn Hotel, St Cloud and had 33 attendees, all of which took the exam. No scholarships were awarded. This course is approved for 30 hours of assessor continuing education by the Minnesota Board of Assessors. Once again we are extremely grateful to Susanne Barkalow for instructing this course. We are grateful to Tina Diedrich-Von Eschen, SAMA for coordinating these courses. Basic Income Approach The 30-hour MAAO Basic Income Approach Course was held August 13-17, 2012 at the Best Western-Kelly Inn Hotel, Plymouth and had 48 attendees, 47 of which took the exam and one attendee was there for continuing education. No scholarships were awarded. This course is approved for 30 hours of assessor continuing education by the Minnesota Board of Assessors and 30 hours of appraiser continuing education by the Department of Commerce. We had 10 assessors that also have MN Department of Commerce Appraisal Licenses that received 30 hours of continuing education for their appraisal license. We are extremely grateful to Dan Blonigen, SAMA and Bob Wilson, CAE, ASA, for instructing this course. We are grateful to Bob Wilson, CAE, ASA, for coordinating this course. Instructor Qualifications I will begin to spotlight at least one instructor every edition; it is important for the membership to know how qualified our instructors are. Susanne L. Barkalow s education includes B.A., University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio, M.A., Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. Over the past 26 years she has attended many appraisal courses. She is the co-owner of Barkalow Appraisals, Ltd. She has experience in form, narrative and review appraisals, specializing in residential properties, including conventional, FHA, VA, REO, relocation, government, and expert witness. She has served as a faculty member at St Cloud State University and a member of the NAIFA faculty. She is a Certified Residential Real Property Appraiser, AQB Certified USPAP Instructor, and Certified Valuation Specialist. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 19

20 State Board of Assessors Meeting Minutes Provided by Bobbi Spencer Minnesota Department of Revenue May 31st 2012 Lake George Municipal Center Chairperson Doreen Pehrson convened the meeting at 9:30 am. Mike Amo was unable to attend. All other members were present. Minutes of the March 20, 2012 meeting were read and discussed. Brian Koester moved to approve the minutes as amended. Gregg Larson seconded. The motion carried. Secretary s Report: Jane Grossinger was introduced as the new township assessor board member. Bobbi Spencer was introduced as the new board secretary. She was hired early so she can spend some time in training before Pam s retirement on July 3, On Monday, March 26, the board mailed out 965 license renewal applications for the fiscal year 2013 license year. To date, 470 licenses have been renewed; 24 are on record retention; 10 are on hold awaiting additional CEH data. Appointments with the Board: Cynthia Bowman, City of Plymouth, met with the board for her Accreditation Oral Interview. Her education includes Courses A, B, H (elective), Basic Income Approach to Value, IAAO 102, IAAO 151 and MAAO Assessment Administration. Ms. Bowman s form report passed the grading committee in April 2012 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in June Ms. Bowman has assessment experience since April Steve Sinell made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Cynthia Bowman. Dave Marhula seconded the motion. The motion carried. Mike Cebulla, Stearns County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Courses A, B, Mass Appraisal Basics (elective), J, IAAO 102, 151, and Assessment Administration. His form report passed the grading committee in April 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in September Mr. Cebulla has 8 years of assessment experience. Steve Hurni made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Mike Cebulla. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Shayne Bender, LeSueur County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Courses A, H, J, IAAO 102, 15 hour USPAP, Management and Supervision and a Bachelors Degree in Real Estate from St. Cloud State University. Mr. Bender has 10 years of assessment experience. Gregg Larson made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Shayne Bender. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. M. Pete Friedrichsen, Ramsey County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Courses A, B, H, J, K, IAAO 102 and ProSource 105. His form report passed the grading committee in April 2011 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in March Mr. Friedrichsen has 9 years of assessment experience and he applied for the Accredited Minnesota Assessor license. Steve Sinell made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to M. Pete Friedrichsen. Deb Volkert seconded the motion. The motion carried. Patrick Chapman, Ramsey County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, ProSource , Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value, Income Approach to Valuation and Assessment Administration. His form report passed the grading committee in January 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam in February Mr. Chapman has eight years of assessment experience. Brian Koester made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Patrick Chapman. Dave Marhula seconded the motion. The motion carried. Chase Peloquin, Chisago County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Residential Appraisal Principles, Residential Appraisal Procedures, successful challenges to Mass Appraisal Basics and Basic Income approach to Value, Income Approach to Valuation, Assessment Administration, IAAO 151 and PACE. Mr. Peloquin s form report passed the grading committee in April 2011 and he passed the Residential Case Study Examination in March Mr. Peloquin will have three years of assessment experience effective June 16, Brian Koester made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Chase Peloquin effective on June 16, Steve Hurni seconded the motion. The motion carried. Bonnie Crosby, Chippewa County, met with the board for her Accreditation Oral Interview. Her education includes Courses A, B, H, J, K, IAAO 102 and IAAO Her form report passed the grading committee in February 2012 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in March Ms. Crosby has ten years of assessment experience. Steve Hurni made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Bonnie Crosby. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Jason McCaslin, Jackson County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, ProSource (alternate to both Residential Appraisal Courses and IAAO 151), Mass Appraisal Basics, Income Approach to Valuation, Basic Income Approach to Value and Assessment Administration. Mr. McCaslin s form report passed the grading committee in April 2012 and he passed the Residential Case Study Exam the same month. Mr. McCaslin has 3 years of assessment experience. Steve Hurni made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Jason McCaslin. Dave Marhula seconded the motion. The motion carried. 20 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

21 State Board, continued Jason Heitzinger, Scott County, met with the board for his Accreditation Oral Interview. His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, a Bachelor of Real Estate Degree from St. Cloud State University (included an income course), Appraiser License number: , a successful challenge to Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach, Assessment Administration and PACE. Mr. Heitzinger has 3 years of assessment experience effective June 1, Gregg Larson made a motion to award an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license to Jason Heitzinger effective June 1, Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Requests for Continuing Education Hours: Judy Barka, local assessor in Meeker County, is requesting CEH s for a two year leadership program called MARL Minnesota Agriculture Rural Leadership. This training is sponsored by SMSV and MN Extension. The first year (49.75 hours) topics covered: Natural Resources and the Environment, Travel to Washington DC to develop professional relationships, The Needs of the Many, Trait Leadership and Emotional Intelligence, Introduction and Orientation. The second year (54 Hours) topics covered: Rural Industry and Trade, Community Big and Small, Agriculture s Future New Paradigms & Futuring, Rural Development and Diversity. Two years ago, Judy asked the board if the education was appropriate and it was decided that it was. Now she s requesting the appropriate CEH s. This course was pre-approved 2 years ago; accordingly, Dave Marhula made a motion based on prior approval to award CEH s to Judy Barka pending documentation of completion. Steve Sinell seconded the motion. The motion carried. Paul Montgomery, Ramsey County, is requesting CEH s for on-line courses from the University of Denver. The courses included an Income Property Appraisal Course that he worked on for 2 hours a week for 10 weeks (from 9/13/2010 through 11/18/2010). More information and proof of completion is required before a decision can be made. Melissa Bickman, Hennepin County, is requesting the approval of a SCSU 3 credit course entitled Real Estate Principles which covers introductory real estate contracts, finance, investment, appraisal, owning vs. renting, taxation and closings. The board requested more information in order to make a decision. Jodie Raymond, Anoka County, is requesting approval of 5 days of training (40 hours total) in Land Records Framework completed by three county staff members. ACS Government Systems conducted the training which included the following topics: Using LRF Viewers, Nomenclature/Terminology, Fundamentals/Building Blocks, Data Model/Design Concepts, Development and Maintenance Tools, Business Rules, Troubleshooting, and Database Topics. Denied per policy. Melissa Janzen, MAAP President, is requesting CEH s for the 2012 Summer Seminars on Thursday and Friday, August 16 & 17, Session items include: Board of Appeal and Equalization training, Sales Ratios, Resources for Assessment Professionals, Public Relations, Special Programs Review and someone from the Property Tax Division will discuss 2012 law changes. Tabled until more information is obtained. (See addendum at the end of these minutes.) Application for Certified Minnesota Assessor Specialist: Miranda Gilbertson, Chippewa County, applied for the Certified Minnesota Assessor Specialist license. Her education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, Residential Appraisal Principles, Residential Appraisal Procedures, Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value and Income Approach to Valuation. Ms. Gilbertson s form report passed the grading committee in October 2007 and she has 7 years of assessment experience. Dave Marhula made the motion to award a Certified Minnesota Assessor Specialist license to Miranda Gilbertson. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Jonathan Thompson, City of Minneapolis, applied for the Certified Minnesota Assessor Specialist license. His education includes Assessment Law and Procedures, Appraiser License: , Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value and Income Approach to Valuation. Mr. Thompson s form report passed the grading committee in November 2011 and he has 2 years of assessment experience in addition to 8 years of appraisal experience. Steve Sinell made the motion to award a Certified Minnesota Assessor Specialist license to Jonathan Thompson. Deb Volkert seconded the motion. The motion carried. Application for Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor: Jamie Freeman, Clearwater County, applied for her Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor license. Her coursework includes Courses A, H, K, IAAO 102, USPAP and a successful challenge to Courses B and J. Ms. Freeman s form report passed the grading committee in January 2010 and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in April She had a successful oral interview with the board in May Ms. Freeman passed the Income Case Study Exam in March 2012 and she has eight years of assessment experience. Brian Koester made the motion to award a SAMA license to Jamie Freeman. Dave Marhula seconded the motion. The motion carried. Dianne Reinart, Traverse County, applied for her Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor license. Her education includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Residential Appraisal Principles, Residential Appraisal Procedures, Mass Appraisal Basics, Basic Income Approach to Value, Minnesota Assessment Administration, IAAO 151, Management and Supervision, and IAAO 102. Ms. Reinart s form report passed the grading committee in September 2009, and she passed the Residential Case Study Exam in June Ms. Reinart had a successful oral interview with the board in November 2010 and she passed the Income Case Study Exam in April Ms. Reinart has five Do You Have Assessor Licensure Questions? Contact Bobbi Spencer Program Administrator for the State Board of Assessors or assessors.board@state.mn.us Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 21

22 State Board, continued years of assessment experience. Steve Hurni made the motion to award a SAMA license to Dianne Reinart. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Justin Massmann, Hennepin County, applied for his Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor license. His coursework includes Assessment Laws and Procedures, Mass Appraisal Basics, Assessment Administration, USPAP, IAAO 102 and a Bachelor of Science degree in Real Estate from St. Cloud State University. He had a successful oral interview with the board in May Mr. Massmann passed the Income Case Study Exam in March 2012 and he has five years of assessment experience. Dave Marhula made the motion to award a SAMA license to Justin Massmann. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Discussion Items: Motion by Steve Hurni that the PACE Course taken prior to June 30, 2012 can be used as an elective for licenses applied for by June 30, 2013 (even if not acted upon until the July 2013 meeting). Steve Sinell seconded the motion. The motion carried. PACE cannot be used as an elective for applications made after June 30, Steve Hurni presented a draft licensing level spreadsheet showing the population breakdown and license level comparison for a few counties. A two-day meeting has been scheduled for September to focus on the license level list. There being no further business, the chairperson set the next meeting date as July 24, 2012 at the Lake George Municipal Complex, in the Sunroom. The meeting will convene at 9:30 am. The September meeting will be a two-day meeting on September 17-18, 2012 and will be held at the meeting room at the Nicollet County Courthouse. No interviews will be scheduled as it will be a working meeting with a focus on updating the license level list. Dave Marhula moved to pay the expenses for the meeting. Brian Koester seconded the motion. The motion carried. Gregg Larson moved to adjourn the meeting. Dave Marhula seconded the motion. The motion carried. Addendum to the May 21, 2012 Meeting Minutes: Subsequent to the May 21, 2012 meeting, more information was obtained regarding the agenda for the Summer Workshop sponsored by MAAP. The information was distributed to board members via . A motion was made via on May 30, 2012 by Brian Koester to approve the agenda for 10 CEHs. Mike Amo seconded the motion. The motion carried on June 11, 2012 with two nay votes. MAAO Snapshot How often do you visit the MAAO Website? As Surveyed in % 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Daily More than once per week Weekly More than once Monthly Less than once Never per month per month 22 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

23 Feature Carlton County Flood of 2012 Written by Marci Moreland, SAMA Carlton County Assessor In June 2012, Northeast Minnesota received nearly 15 of rain in a five day period. This caused major flooding as the water overwhelmed area rivers, storm sewers and roadways. After major damage to the infrastructure, the disaster reaassessment began. This is their story. It was 3:00 am on June 20th when all of a sudden I was awaken by a clash of thunder and a strike of lightening. I noticed a flash in the kitchen and all lights were out in the east half of the house. Nothing worked. I opened the main door to outside to make sure nothing was on fire and man was it raining. The rain gauge was overflowing at 6. Searched the house and the main breaker for that half the house had been tripped. I reset the breaker and lights came on. We normally get up at 4:30 to do our chores and get ready for work. Seeing as I was on vacation this week, I slept in until about 5:30 when my husband left for work. I received a phone call at 6:00 am and it was my husband, Gary, telling me that the road by County Rd. 7 was washed out and he was turning around to find another route to get to work. He took the back roads and went into Barnum where the streets were starting to get covered with water. He progressed to Mahtowa via Highway 61. There he could see the whole town under water. By the whole town I mean the bar, Rob s Tavern and TJ s Country Store. He called me back when he got to work and said I wouldn t be going anywhere. Little did I know at this time, my life as County Assessor was going to change rapidly and drastically. I did not go into work that day, only to try and find a route where my husband could get home. The Courthouse was closed for the day due to the roads being washed out. The City of Thomson and half of the City of Carlton were evacuated due to rising waters. On Thursday, June 21, I received a call from Emergency Management asking me to come in to work as Carlton County was the victim of a flash flood. Carlton County was again closed down for the day. I arrived at work and right away Emergency Management meetings were being held. We were updated on the storm and what we were faced with. Within the last 5 days, we had received a total of 15 of rain. Carlton County is the main thorough fare for the major rivers of St. Louis, Moose Horn, Silver, Split Rock, Midway and Nemaji. All roads in southern Carlton County were impassable and the water was still rising in the Barnum and Moose Lake area. The threat of the Thomson dams holding were of major concern. If the dams breeched, the City of Thomson would be no more. They were already fully under water. As we progressed through the day, I gave a brief scenario of what the people of Carlton County could expect from my staff. I called in Chief Deputy Assessor Kyle Holmes and we made a plan of attack. We called in all of our staff on Friday, June 22, we had to cancel all vacations. We immediately put out a call for help from all the Assessors in the state to help with the flood assessment. Almost right away we started getting responses back from Counties and Cities that were willing to come and help. It was overwhelming. Lou s Diner in Barnum Kyle and I came to work on Sunday, June 24 th and I thought it would be a good idea to take a tour of the County to see what we were dealing with before the assessment personnel arrived and also to put out a press release asking people to call in with flood damage. I don t think I could put into words what I saw when we went to Barnum and Moose Lake. It was heartbreaking to say the least. Roads were gone. There were piles of rubble in the streets where people already started to strip their homes of debris. We stopped at Lou s Diner and visited with them. The pain and shock in their faces was very evident as they suffered a great loss. The senior apartment building across the street still had 12 of water on the first floor. The local beauty shop was totally destroyed. City hall and city offices were destroyed by water. We stopped to visit a local resident that I knew personally as we had heard their home was severely damaged. Unbelievable. The smell of mold and mildew was setting in. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 23

24 Carlton County Floods, continued It didn t help the situation that the forecast was for 90 degree days and mostly sunny all week. I just kept thinking to myself that these people didn t have much time before the situation turned to bad to worse. On to Moose Lake we went. I thought Barnum was bad, Moose Lake had suffered a tremendous loss. We could not even drive down some of the main streets as there was still 3-4 of water over the roads. In some cases you could only see the top ½ of the houses. On other streets, people were helping neighbors get out the wet carpet, appliances, furnaces, and water heaters. People were doing everything they could to salvage some of their belongings. The main bridge on the south end of town was closed due to the rising water. According to the police chief, the water rose at a rate of 1 every 10 minutes. Several businesses in town suffered severe water damage, along with the Moose Lake Hockey Arena. The most important building in town: their school, was just 2 of water shy of covering the whole building. The city park was flooded and perennial campers were floating around like bobbers in a lake. They even had to bring in an excavator to extract a camper that had floated downstream and was lodged by the south bridge that was closed. As we left Moose Lake and headed towards other parts of the county, I just kept thinking I was in some kind of sci-fi movie. This just doesn t happen in real life. City of Carlton Raging Flood Waters In Cromwell, we looked across Island Lake and saw cabins totally immersed in water. At 5:00 we had an emergency management meeting and HSEM had already arrived to help us with our recovery process. After updates at the meeting we found that 44 of our County/Township Roads were closed. Many bridges were out and the most traumatic of all is that Jay Cooke State Park had been totally destroyed by the ravaging flood waters. The iconic swinging bridge had been wiped away by the raging river. If anyone has ever seen the bridge, it was about 30 feet above the river. This is a condensed version of how much damage in each town: City of Thomson evacuated - no sewer- no water- no way in or out of town - only residents allowed to return by Wednesday after the flood. City of Barnum evacuated - no sewer - no using of water for drinking advised - residents allowed to return on that Sunday. City of Moose Lake - no sewer - no using of water for drinking advised. City of Carlton - south part of town evacuated - allowed to return on that Saturday. Road into Jay Cooke State Park gone. Jay Cooke State Park - closed indefinitely. Carlton County Roud 4 County wide the water damage was sporadic outside the major affected areas. 24 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

25 Carlton County Floods, continued Carlton County Fair Sappi paper mill fought its own battle with the rising St. Louis River. The company suffered millions of dollars worth of damage to compressors, inventory, machines, buildings and production loss. On Monday June 25 th, the work began. We had mapped out areas in the hardest hit regions first and sent teams of two to work those regions. We had seven volunteers for this day along with my four appraisers. We sent teams to Thomson, Barnum and Moose Lake. Each day the number of volunteers grew and we made good progress the first week of assessment. We were fortunate to get volunteers to be scribes so each of the volunteer assessors were put to the fullest use. Our teams worked from 8:00 in the morning till 7:00 at night. They were long hard days. As I stated earlier the weather was 90 degrees and humid. They would return at night and talk of the devastation they had seen that day. After two weeks of reassessing properties, we had viewed 5,137 properties in Carlton County. For myself, I was involved in Emergency Management meetings and then I would tour the working areas to see how the teams were doing. At night I would attend community meetings in the Barnum and Moose Lake areas. Eventually there was a meeting in Kettle and Cromwell. This for me was the hardest part of being a public official. Barnum is my home town for those of you that don t know this. First was the Moose Lake meeting on Monday, June 25 th. I could see people were tired, some still in shock, some were angry, some just wanting some answers. I spoke to them of my visit to Moose Lake on Sunday and that I wasn t prepared for what I saw. It brought tears to my eyes to see all the devastation. I tried to assure them that we were there to help and would do everything we could to make sure this recovery goes smooth for them. I explained that teams of assessors started to go door to door to assess damage to their homes. This was going to be a lengthy process and please be patient as we would get to their homes. On Tuesday was the Barnum meeting. I explained the whole process to them. Looking out at the crowd I saw family, dear friends and long-time acquaintances. As I sympathized with them, the tears flowed. These were my people. How can you not help but feel for them and what they are going through. It s going to be a long recovery. Not just getting buildings back in shape, but emotionally for some. Some people commented they will walk away as they don t have the resources to rebuild and are just tired. As a public official, I have never felt so helpless. As the days passed and more community meetings were held, the story was no different from one town to the other. People needed help. FEMA was always a topic of discussion. Would we get help from the state? In conclusion, Carlton County was not the only area affected by the flash floods of Other counties and communities also suffered damage. However, Carlton County carries 1/3 of the total loss of the Region declared in the disaster area. Our losses are listed below In addition, these totals do not include damage to Sappi Paper, USG, or to tourism losses because of the floods and the long-term closure of Jay Cooke Park. Total does not include county, city or township expenses. In closing, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all of you that helped in our reassessment process. I am humbled by this experience and cannot express to you all how grateful I am for your thoughtfulness and warm words during this whole ordeal. I truly believe that, we, as assessors, belong to one of the greatest organizations in the State. No one hesitated to drop what they were doing and come to our aid. I just can t say thank you enough. Carlton County County/Township Public Infrastructure: $30 million State Public Infrastructure: Mn. Hwy. 210 through Jay Cooke Park $35-40 million Willard Munger State Trail $15-40 million Jay Cooke State Park: Data Unavailable, Could top $100 Million Property Damage: (Total loss in value) $30.3 million** **Does not include loss of personal property. Cost to repair likely to be 2 or 3 times this amount as this is the depreciated value of buildings. Damage to crops: $3.4 million Preliminary Carlton County total still excluding many items: $103-$133 million Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 25

26 FEATURE Property Tax Working Group Update Background Minnesota Statutes, Section 270C.991 Subdivision 4 establishes a Property Tax Working Group (PTWG). The goals of the working group are: 1. To investigate ways to simplify the property tax system and make advisory recommendations on ways to make the system more understandable; 2. To examine the property tax calendar to determine what changes could be made to shorten the two-year cycle from assessment through property tax collection; and 3. To determine the cost versus benefits of the various property tax components, including property tax classifications, credits, aids, exclusions, exemptions and abatements, and to suggest ways to achieve some of the goals in simpler and more costefficient ways. Written by Stephen Behrenbrinker, SAMA City of St. Cloud Assessor of establishing guidelines for making changes to property tax laws. The principles include: Remember the purpose Base property tax on property attributes not owners Defend broad-based goals from narrow interests Question alternatives Require value or intention statements on new legislation Make simplicity a priority Provide sunsets to prompt review Part 2: Classification This part of the document addresses the need to reduce the number of classifications and eliminate tiers and parcel linkage with emphasis on agricultural properties. MAAO has played a major role in this section of the document. The PTWG is to make recommendations to the legislature by February 1, The 12-member working group consists of the members: Kathleen Gaylord, Chairperson, Association of MN Counties Rep. Denise Dittrich, MN House of Representative Rep. Greg Davids, MN House of Representatives Sen. Warren Limmer, MN Senate Sen. Rod Skoe, MN Senate Thomas Mould, Homeowner Eric Sorensen, Homeowner Luayn Murphy, League of MN Cities David Fricke, MN Association of Townships Matt Van Slooten, MN Chamber of Commerce Chris Radatz, MN Farm Bureau, MN Farmers Union Stephen Behrenbrinker, MN Association of Assessing Officers Jason Nord, MN Department of Revenue (non-voting) Update on Activities The Property Tax Working Group (PTWG) has generally met monthly since October 2010 in St. Paul. The last meeting was held August 15, The committee continues to make progress in addressing concerns of the current property tax system. With the time remaining for the committee, emphasis will be on producing a significant document for presentation to the 2013 legislature in February The committee got an update on other tax issue working groups that are also in process. The committee, with the assistance of DOR staff is now developing the final report which includes the four part Draft Consensus & Discussion Points of the Property Tax Working Group which is a draft working document of the items addressed by the working group. Part 1: Guiding Principles This part provides a statement of the committee s recommendation Part 3: Operational and Administration Changes This part of the document comments on the current property tax system and how it is administered. Some of the suggestions in process are to consolidate reporting requirements, applications and effective dates. The PTWG reviewed the assessment calendar and considered recommendations from MAAO. The PTWG is also reviewing valuation notices, TNT notices and tax statements for possible improvements. Part 4: Other Property Tax Preferences/Benefits This part of the document considers who should get property tax benefits, why and how these benefits should be applied. These benefits include exclusions, credits, exemptions, deferrals, refunds and aids. With only a few meetings remaining, it is now up to the committee to decide on the format and content of the final report. Your MAAO representative continues to stress the important issues for assessors to be sure they are given emphasis within the report. Those issues are homesteads, agricultural linkages and tiers as well as the house is a house concept. We believe this report will play a significant role in future legislation procedures for the property tax system. The report should be available soon for review. Thanks to Jason Nord, Eric Willette, Jessica Thompson Harding and the Department of Revenue Staff for their on-going contributions and to John Hagen for his support of the committee s work. Thanks to the MAAO Legislative Committee, including Bill Effertz, and Tom Dybing for their insight and involvement in this process along with Tom May and Rob Vanasek. The next meeting of the PTWG is September 19, 2012 in St. Paul. Meeting times are 9:30-11:30 am. All meetings are open to the public and a number of assessors have regularly attended the meetings All reports, agendas and meeting minutes are available here.the website also includes background information, studies, reports and presentations. 26 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

27 FEATURE Murder She Wrote... A shot at understanding stigmatized properties Written by Jane Grossinger, SAMA City of St. Michael Assessor A normal call, on a normal day: could you take look at the house I just purchased? I would like the value reduced to the sale price. We have all been hearing it lately with foreclosures, short sales, bank sales, etc. But this one had a twist that included murder, so now what do you do?? This call came in the fall of 2011, just about three years after the adjacent article appeared in local papers: The Zitur residence, located at 89 Halsey Ave., St. Michael, had been vacant since August It sold in March 2011 for $191,000. The 2011 Estimated Market value on the property was $302,100. The new owners appealed the 2012 valuation of $300,700. After viewing the property, adjustments were made for the condition of the dwelling and the elevation of the lot to lake shore, reducing the valuation to $234,400. The owners continued the appeal to the 2012 City of St. Michael Board of Appeal & Equalization, who reduced the valuation by another $10,000 for one year. Not only was the sale price very low, the house was on the market for a couple of years, and then went into foreclosure before being sold. This would normally be a very desirable lake to own property on. The new owners were not aware of the murder at the time of purchase. The refrigerator still has a gunshot hole as evidence of the crime. The Heald property, located at Fremont Dr NW, Zimmerman, sold for $105,000 in October of Sherburne County rejected the sale as an estate sale. The estimated market value was $414,300 for taxes payable The property is currently classified as non-homestead. In both transactions, it appears stigma had an effect on sale price. Two murders, suicide end a love triangle By Abby Simons Courtesy of Star Tribune, Originally printed 08/20/2012, Reprinted with permission Zimmerman, Minn., man shot and killed his wife and another man before taking his own life, apparently angered over their relationship that began when they met through an online swinger s club. Gary Heald, 59, and his wife, Deloris, also known as DeDe, 56, were found dead in their home Tuesday morning. Rory S. Zitur, 47, of Buffalo, was found dead in his home that evening, Sherburne County Sheriff s Capt. Don Starry said Wednesday. We learned there was a relationship [among the three], Starry said. They all knew each other... through some kind of chat line. Sheriff Bruce Anderson told the St. Cloud Times on Wednesday that the evidence suggests Zitur and Deloris Heald met through an online swinger s club, and that her husband found out about the affair. Starry would not confirm that account, or answer any questions Wednesday. Neighbors at the couple s immaculate home on Lake Fremont only shook their heads when asked about the deaths, recalling the Healds as neighbors they spoke to only on occasion, but who were always sure to wave when pulling out of the driveway. Past the meticulously lush lawn adorned with lawn ornaments, wooden signs proclaimed Welcome and Bless Our House on the front porch. Their mailbox is a large plastic fish, its mouth wide open to take in the mail. A young woman who answered the door at the home Wednesday afternoon declined to comment. Starry told reporters at a news conference that Deloris Heald s employer, a hospital where she was an on-call nurse, could not reach her Tuesday morning after she failed to report to work. Authorities were contacted and found nothing unusual outside the Heald s house. The yard was just mowed, nothing was out of the ordinary, Starry said. Deputies made contact with family, and they decided one would respond later that day to the house. Nearly two hours later, the Heald s son called the Sheriff s Office, reporting he found a note that said his father had killed his mother and another man. Deputies were called to the home and found their bodies in the basement. Deputies also found Zitur s phone number in the couple s home. By 6 p.m., Wright County deputies went to his home and found his body inside. We believe the evidence shows Gary Heald murdered Deloris Heald and Rory Zitur, and then committed suicide. Starry said. According to online records, Zitur was a partner in Zieman & Zitur, which was involved in tax preparation services. The Minnesota secretary of state s office said that Gary Heald had been proprietor of Heald Farms, of Ogilvie, a limited partnership he first registered in Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 27

28 Murder She Wrote, continued What exactly is stigma? Stigma is basically the effect that lingers after the cure. In real estate it can be something as simple as how clean is clean? This refers to a property that say had an oil spill. The buyer may have full access to the reports from the environmental experts, but due to a migrating underground water supply, they may feel that the oil may move back or that a neighboring property, that was contaminated could have their contamination issues migrate. For grow operations (marijuana grow houses) the problem of stigma is predominately related to mold. The house can be cleaned to its fullest, and problems fixed but mold can result even a year later. Same with a house that had a water problem. Stigma is either real or perceived. Sometimes public opinion or word-ofmouth can result in the highest loss in value. Once the community knows of a problem from a murder to a grow-op, the word is out. In most provinces and states, realtors must disclose. But some of the laws are vague and the buyer is not always protected. Court ruling: The Stambovsky vs. Ackley decision Good advice? Recommend a qualified home inspector, one who is reputable; check references and qualifications carefully and make sure they carry insurance coverage. Many stigma problems cannot be measured from the marketplace. A loss of parking which negates a value, a mold issue, a bad construction job, etc.; comparable data is not available. The US National Association of Realtors has defined stigma as, Any property which has been psychologically impacted by an event, which occurred or was suspected to have occurred on the property, such event being one that has no physical impact of any kind. Basically, if your house has been built on an Indian burial ground, is haunted by ghosts, or has been the site of a triple murder, the property is considered stigmatized. There are several types of stigma. The types include: Public stigma: when the stigma is known to a wide selection of the population and any reasonable person can be expected to know of it. Examples include the Amityville Horror house and the home of There are entire websites devoted to the many supposedly haunted buildings in and around Nyack, New York, but the most famous site is the large Victorian house at 1 LaVeta Place, at a dead end on the Hudson River. During the 1960s, the 7,000 residents of the tiny village knew that the 5,000 square foot house was haunted, but nobody bothered to tell the Ackley couple before they decided to move in. Helen and George Ackley, who lived in the home for more than 20 years, reported that they had seen a ghost in the house on at least one occasion and that they would be awoken every morning by a shaking bed, but otherwise lived in peace with whatever spirits resided in their home. When they decided to move and sold the house in 1990, they didn t bother to tell the new buyers about the ghost problem. With $32,500 in escrow, Jeffrey and Patrice Stambovsky backed out of the contract when they learned that the house was haunted. When the Ackley s refused to refund the deposit, the Stambovskys sued, leading to what would come to be known as the Ghostbusters ruling. The New York Appellate court ruled that, because a routine home inspection would never uncover it, sellers must disclose that a house is haunted to potential buyers. the Menendez brothers. Public stigma must always be disclosed in almost all American and European jurisdictions. Criminal stigma: the property was used in the ongoing commission of a crime. For example, a house is stigmatized if it has been used as a chop shop, drug den or brothel. In the case of drug dens, some drug addicts may inadvertently come to the address expecting to purchase illegal drugs. Most jurisdictions require full disclosure of this sort of element. Murder/suicide stigma: Some jurisdictions in the United States require property sellers to reveal if murder or suicide occurred on the premises. California state law does if the event occurred within the previous three years. To protect sellers from lawsuits, Florida state law does not require any notification (see FL statute : Failure to disclose suicide, deaths, or diagnosis of HIV or AIDS infection in an occupant of real property ). Debt stigma: Debt collectors not aware that a debtor has moved out of a particular residence may continue their pursuit at the same location, resulting in harassment to innocent subsequent occupiers. This is particularly announced if the collection agency uses aggressive tactics. Phenomena stigma: Many (but not all) jurisdictions require disclosure if a house is renowned for haunting, ghost sightings, etc. This is in a separate category from public stigma where the knowledge of haunting is restricted to a local market. Minimal stigma: is known to, or taken seriously by, only a small select group, and such a stigma is unlikely to affect the ability to sell the property. In such a case, realtors may decide to disclose this information in a case-by-case basis. The Ghostbusters ruling is another example. While it isn t often cited in other rulings, the Stambovsky vs. Ackley decision has been widely taught in law school classes because of its unique holding. 28 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

29 Murder She Wrote, continued But how does this affect the property value? A 2000 study from Wright State University found that on average, stigmas caused a sale price to drop just three percent. But stigmatized homes were also on the market 45 percent longer than comparable houses. Over time, memories fade and the stigma usually fades away, says Randall Bell of Bell, Anderson & Sanders LLC, a Laguna Beach, CA Real estate consultancy. But can you afford to wait it out? That is the question. Does the stigma need to be disclosed to a prospective buyer? Many jurisdictions recognize several forms of stigmatized property, and have passed resolutions or statutes to deal with them. One issue that separates them is disclosure. Depending on the jurisdiction of the house, the seller may not be required to disclose the full facts. Some specific types must always be disclosed, others are up to the jurisdiction, and still others up to the realtor. The statute on disclosure is vague: General Discolsure Requirements Subdivision 1.Contents.(a) Before signing an agreement to sell or transfer residential real property, the seller shall make a written disclosure to the prospective buyer. The disclosure must include all material facts of which the seller is aware that could adversely and significantly affect: an ordinary buyer s use and enjoyment of the property; or (2) Any intended use of the property of which the seller is aware. (b) The disclosure must be made in good faith and based upon the best of the seller s knowledge at the time of the disclosure. 2. Disclosure to licensee. A seller may provide the written disclosure required under sections to to a real estate licensee representing or assisting the prospective buyer. The written disclosure provided to the real estate licensee representing or assisting the prospective buyer is considered to have been provided to the prospective buyer. If the written disclosure is provided to the real estate licensee representing or assisting the prospective buyer, the real estate licensee shall provide a copy to the prospective buyer. History: 2002 c 306 s 4; 2004 c 203 art 1 s Disclosure Not Required 1.General.Section does not create a duty to disclose the fact that residential property: (1) Is or was occupied by an owner or occupant who is or was suspected to be infected with human immunodeficiency virus or diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; (2) Was the site of a suicide, accidental death, natural death, or perceived paranormal activity; or (3) Is located in a neighborhood containing any adult family home, community-based residential facility, or nursing home. In conclusion this the best bit of information I came upon: Here is a true test for a real loss in value: can you get a mortgage with the problem known to the lender? If the advance is reduced, if the rate is higher or they say no, you have stigma. Next major test: can you get insurance? If not or it s highly rated, you have a stigma problem. Not everyone will agree with this simple logic, as most of us are too curious about the unknown and intrigued by the life after. I have taken my shot at understanding stigma and it has been interesting listening to different stories and perspectives from assessors, realtors and the public. I challenge my peers to submit their stories for future Equal Eyes publications. NOTICE: Job Posting: MAAO Secretary Treasurer MAAO is soliciting applicants for the Position of Secretary-Treasurer. This position is available immediately. The successful candidate will receive training from the current Secretary Treasurer Nancy Wojcik. Interested candidates should apply by at treasurer@mnmaao.org MAAO Secretary/Treasurer Job Purpose: To provide a record of all business meetings and financial accounting of the business banking and investment funds for the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers. For Additional Details please click here Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 29

30 Global Assessment Trends China Written by Solomon Akanki, AMA Scott County Editorial Committee Member This issue we go to the far east and examine assessment practices in China So much has been said about the world s second largest economy and the Chinese have often been blamed for the high unemployment in the United States. I know that Assessors are independent, objective and well informed people so I know you all will agree with me when I say that we Americans are responsible for the challenges we are facing today. This article is all about assessment practices in China so I will not spend too long on the point I am about to make. Fellow Americans, our business culture has always been to maximize shareholder wealth no matter the cost even if it includes offshoring American jobs to China thus creating high unemployment at home to the benefit of the Chinese; please compare this to the German culture that believes in producing high quality goods (BMW, MERCEDES BENZ etc.) at home in spite of the extremely high German labor costs thus saving German jobs. We definitely have a lot to learn from the Germans whose cost of labor is the highest in the world and yet never get involved in offshoring jobs. Commercial Real Estate in China 30 Equal Eyes Fall 2012 China is the world s most populous country with a population of over 1.3 billion; this is 20 percent of the world s population. Covering approximately 3.7 million square miles, it is the second largest country in the world by land area after Russia. A major environmental issue in China is the continued expansion of its deserts, particularly the Gobi Desert, which is currently the world s fifth-largest desert. According to China s environmental watchdog, Sepa, China is losing a million acres per year to desertification. It borders 14 nations, more than any other country except Russia, which also borders 14. Its capital city is Beijing. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China has become the world s fastest-growing major economy. As of 2012, it is the world s second largest economy, after the United States, by both nominal GDP and purchasing power parity (PPP), and is also the world s largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. Infrastructure Transportation in mainland China has undergone intense state-led development since the 1990s. By the end of 2011, China s expressways had reached a total length of 53,000 mi second only to the network of the United States. China also possesses the world s longest high-speed rail network, with over 6,012 mi of service routes. As of 2012, China is the world s largest constructor of new airports. Demographics China s middle-class population (defined as those with annual income of at least US$17,000) has reached more than 100 million as of 2011 while the number of super-rich individuals worth more than US$1.5 million is estimated to be 825,000. The number of US dollar billionaires in China doubled from 130 in 2009 to 271 in 2010, giving China the world s second highest number of billionaires. Today, about 10% of the Chinese population lives below

31 Assessment Trends, continued the poverty line of US$1 per day, down from 64% in Urban unemployment in China reportedly declined to 4% by the end of 2007, although true overall unemployment may be as high as 10%. Appraiser Qualification Certificates In China, two systems are applied in real estate appraisal: one for real property valuation and another for land valuation. There are two types of appraiser qualification: real estate appraiser qualification and land appraiser qualification. Major Approaches to Value There are three major approaches to value (similar to the United States): sales comparison approach, cost approach and income capitalization approach. Property Tax Assessment System China s size and influence in today s global marketplace is immense, however, there is one area where China is deep in the learning curve real estate assessment. Unlike many developed countries, China s local governments (provincial, prefecture, county and township) have not been granted any legal authority for taxing or borrowing, and the property tax plays a very limited role in the local public finance structure. As a result, many local governments turn to extrabudgetary revenue sources, fees for leasing Commercial Real Estate in China land use rights, other fees and surcharges, and in direct borrowing from banks to finance infrastructure investment and local economic development. There is some concern among educators and authorities that this type of local government funding is not sustainable in the long run. During the period from 1991 to 2008, the land leasing fees (also known as land transfer fees) increased from 5.7 percent of total local budgetary revenue to 43.5 percent. The overreliance on land leasing fees has been criticized as an important factor in pushing up housing prices and in the growth of corruption cases and land disputes in China. Residential Real Estate in China China s real estate taxation system is designed to be applied to business, that is, commercial and industrial properties only, with exemption from tax liability for non-business and rural real estate. Nontenancy residential housing is tax free. With the advance of industrialization and urbanization, municipal zones now have a great need to impose real property taxes that are adequate to fund their service provision responsibilities. Over-exemption of the taxable base reduces the ability of municipal governments to achieve a stable revenue stream which could sustain public utility services and local infrastructure. The exemption of owner occupied residential property has significantly restricted the government s ability to capture value from the booming housing market that was fueled by the privatization of public housing, income growth, and massive Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 31

32 Assessment Trends, continued urban infrastructure investment. By 2010, ownership rates reached 84.3 percent of the formal urban housing stocks, and housing values have experienced massive price escalation. Unlike the property tax system in many developed countries, the real estate tax in China is not levied on the assessed value of the property. Instead, it is based on the original price minus 10 to 30 percent of depreciation at a rate of 1.2 percent or levied at 15 percent of the actual rental income for leasing property. Government officials have little experience in the mass appraisal of the market value of existing property, a fundamental skill for establishing a modern property tax system. property value assessment. On January 28, 2011, the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing were permitted to collect property taxes on newly purchased second homes or luxury residential property, respectively. About 8,000 parcels are reported to be levied a property tax in these two cities combined, although after this one year experiment only a small amount of tax revenues has been collected, which was intended to finance low-income housing. Although the tax base, tax rate and the collections are all very small in the two cities, these efforts represent a big step forward for property tax reform in China. Establishing a market-oriented real estate taxation system has become a priority on the central government s agenda for its economic property (including both land and housing structures) based upon its assessed value on an annual basis to make the tax a significant revenue source for local governments. This system will utilize various assessment methods such as market comparison, cost and income approach and will be applied to business and industrial property as well as residential property, including owneroccupied housing. Different versions of computer-assisted mass appraisal (CAMA) have been studied and subsequently implemented by some pilot cities, such as Hangzhou, Dandong and Chongqing. The State Administration of Taxation has been training officials from local tax bureaus in every province about CAMA system development and its application. It has also The Chinese central government has been exploring the possibility of reforming its current land and property tax system since 2003, when it first officially proposed to establish a modern property taxation system. Six cities were selected to conduct pilot projects in 2006, and that number was expanded to 10 cities a year later. In 2010 the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), which is in charge of this pilot project, ordered that every province must choose at least one city to experiment with property value assessment in order to verify the housing sales price selfreported by home purchasers for the deed tax. These experiments have played an important role in the technical and information-based preparation of mass appraisal for future Residential Real Estate in China and social program. It is important to recall the immensity of China s population. China has close to 1.4 billion people therefore effective property tax assessment methodologies must be highly efficient. Mass appraisal systems and their underlying techniques are built on the foundation of scalability, making them an ideal fit for a country like China. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 assessment staff members would be needed if commercial property is the only property type valued. More than 100,000 assessment professionals would be needed if all property types were assessable, based on assessment systems and structures found internationally. China s property tax reform aims to establish a system to tax the existing tried to establish technology standards for each assessment approach. The property tax assessment reform in China is making great progress in research and in experiments with applications and it has begun to accumulate momentum toward better understanding and acceptability among citizens and local government. But the successful establishment of a property tax as a major revenue source in a modern local public finance system requires not only assessment techniques and tax design but also political determination and administrative reform. 32 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

33 FEATURE Couple Builds Cordwood Dream House Written by Joel Stottrup Princeton Union-Eagle Originally published March 15th, 2012 by the Princeton Union - Eagle A Princeton couple, Dave and Mary Bayerl plan to move into a home this year whose walls are filled with cordwood. Yes, cordwood, like the kind you put into a wood furnace, though in this case the cordwood is sealed into the walls with concrete. Known sometimes as cordwood masonry, cordwood construction or stackwall construction, a house of this design keeps the interior temperature very stable, says Dave Bayerl, who built it. The Bayerls cordwood home is round, with 20 sides, and sits on the Bayerls 10 acres in Page Township about 25 miles north of Princeton. The Bayerls plan to put their conventional house in the city of Princeton on the market this spring. Once they sell it they ll move into their house whose walls show the ends of wood stacked up, with masonry between the wood pieces. Hidden from view is an insulation in the center made of wood shavings mixed with lime. The main work left at the cordwood home is to finish the mound septic system and drill a well. Electricity has already been brought to the site and there is a wood stove in the cordwood home that the Bayerls have been using when they have gone to the home periodically. The heating system will be wood, with electricity as backup. But the stove to supply the heat permanently will be different than the one in there now. Dave Bayerl in front of his cordwood home in Page Township in central Mille Lacs County on Dec. 20. Dave Bayerl is looking at buying a more energy-efficient wood gasification stove that will also have an electric heating element and either the heat from the wood or the electricity will heat water in a boiler. A wood gasification stove is touted as being twice as energy efficient as a traditional wood stove for multiple reasons. It has an insulated secondary burning chamber that reaches temperatures up to 2,000 degrees. That chamber burns wood gases that result from the primary wood burning and would otherwise just go out the chimney in a common wood-burning stove. If the Bayerls should be gone for a period of time, the electrical elements on the wood gasification stove would kick on. In either case, whether the heat comes from the wood or the electricity, it will heat water in a boiler which will then circulate through tubes installed below the concrete slab floor of the cordwood home to produce radiant heat. The cordwood home s dimensions The outside diameter of the Bayerls cordwood home is 50 feet, with the loft area in the center about 18 feet across. The highest part of the house is about 18 feet and is at the top of the loft which has the library, accessible by a wooden spiral staircase that Dave built. A bathroom sits directly below the library. The project s beginning The Bayerls bought the lot in 2007 and cleared a space on it for the cordwood home. Bayerl made the cordwood out of aspen and basswood trees he cut on the property and peeled. He then cut aspen and basswood into rough lengths of 21 inches and let them dry. He chose these softer kinds woods, as opposed to a hardwood like oak, he explained, because the hardwoods would expand too much under moist conditions and break apart the walls of the home, Dave said. The excavation and foundation work was done in 2008, Dave Bayerl describing the Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 33

34 Cordwood, continued wet spring that year creating conditions for a Noah s ark at the site. Bayerl laid a foundation that consisted of solid concrete on the bottom, with dry-stacked blocks on top of that, upon which he applied a skim coat of fiber cement on both sides of the blocks. He installed underground utilities that include radiant heat tubes across the house. Over that he placed a vapor barrier and then sheets of foam insulation and then poured a concrete slab over that. He took photos of all the below-floor utilities so that he would know where to drill into the floor if there was ever a utility problem below the concrete floor. He said he chose a concrete floor because it will be easy to clean. Dave next built a wooden post and beam frame for the whole structure. He moved almost all of the wood frame pieces into place either by hand or with a handcranked lift that he rented. The exception was two horizontal beams, which he had to hire a heavy equipment operator to hoist because of their weight. One was a 21 foot long, 8 10 beam weighing pounds. The other was a 12-foot, inch beam. After he had framed everything in, including setting box frames into the framed-up walls for the windows, the next big task was to place cordwood into the 20 exterior sides. The main floor has six windows that are 59 inches square and three that are 29 x 59. Small clerestory windows wrap around part of the outside of the loft. The cordwood After his rough-cut cordwood pieces were dry, Bayerl cut them to their final 18-inch lengths, using a homemade jig that turns a chain saw into a chop saw. He also had to do a lot of calculating in the construction because there were very few 90 degree angles in this 20-sided structure. Installation of the cordwood walls took place over an approximately 100-day period in Dave s brother Jim, of Ramsey, who had lost his job, assisted. Building the cordwood walls 1. For each wall, Dave and Jim first laid down two big beads of cement, each bead about six inches wide and six inches high, along the top of the foundation between the two posts at each end of a wall section. They placed one bead along the outer top edge of the foundation and the other along the inner top edge. They used a cement mixture of sand, Portland cement and newspaper pulp. The newspaper pulp was made by mixing newsprint with water and churning it into a slurry and draining it. 2. Next, Dave and Jim placed wood shavings mixed with a lime to keep out insects, in the valleys between the beads of cement, for insulation. Then Dave and Jim laid the cordwood, the majority of which was split to add variety in the looks of the wall and also reduce the amount of wood shrinkage. The cordwood was laid so that one end would appear on the outside of the house, and the other end on the inside. 3. Dave and Jim then applied more cement, enough to go above the ends of the cordwood, and then placed more shavings into the voids in the middle. Next, they laid more cordwood lengths atop the cement, with spaces between, and continued that process, eventually filling in each wall section. The Bayerls also added a clever natural lighting effect, by interspersing the logs at certain points with what Dave called glass logs. Each consists of a wine bottle with its bottom showing on the inside of the walls, and a canning jar with its bottom showing on the exterior. A metal flashing goes around the two bottles to form the glass log before it is put into place in the wall. It not only lets in some natural light but also produces a colorful pattern on the wall. The planning Before Dave Bayerl began constructing the cordwood home, he built a scale model of it in his workshop for use as a guide. Bayerl noted that while constructing the cordwood house was interesting, it was not without challenges which he called trials and tribulations. Besides all the Dave employed many other clever techniques, including what is known as a water level to get the correct level for the foundation and slab. It works by stretching a clear hose between two points, filling the tube with a liquid and moving the far end of the tube up and down to get the water level to be the same at both ends. Dave and Jim laying the Cordwood Beads 34 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

35 Cordwood, continued calculations for the odd angles, he often worked in the cold, and he mentioned the difficult and tedious job of smoothing out the cement on each side of the wall. He used kitchen utensils like a spoon and butter knife for that. And he said he got irritated by the building inspector making him build the structure even more heavy-duty than Bayerl had planned. I overbuilt it (in the design in the first place) and he made me overbuild it a little more, Bayerl explained. For example, the rafters ended up consisting of two 2 x 12-inch boards rather than one. However, having two planks for rafters did offer some advantages in the construction, Bayerl admitted. Bayerl shopped around for deals on materials, getting a great deal on a double oven for the home. It has a convection oven on top and a conventional one on the bottom. Jay Frank, a sawyer in the Milaca area, supplied much of the post and beam material as well as other lumber for the home. Bayerl built the kitchen cabinets and did the ceramic tiling for the countertops, as well as the interior carpentry which included installing the tongue-and-groove wood ceiling. He also built the interior walls, as well as the 30 x 56 board and batten shed, and the porch with louvered windows. Some people who have heard about the house, have asked how the electrical wiring is run in cordwood walls. The answer is it runs through a chase, or hidden space inside the top of the wall that runs around the interior. Bayerl needs only to remove some screws to pull back a panel in a particular area of the chase to get at the wiring. He can use what is known as a snake to move wire vertically in the walls. How the project started Bayerl admits that the words, dream home, apply to his cordwood home, and that he has always wanted a round house. No one can box you into a corner in a round house, he added. A similar feeling about round houses has apparently run in the family of Dave s wife Mary. He noted that she had a great aunt who hated corners and once had them rounded out in a home she lived in. Mary last week said she likes the whole project but was a bit hesitant at first. I wasn t sure about cordwood walls, she explained. I thought of spiders and icky things. But now that it is done, it s really nice. She also indicated that she suspected long ago that they would end up with a round dwelling. He had a plan for a round house when we got married 36 years ago, she explained. The Bayerls plans for building the cordwood house began taking shape about six years ago when Dave read books on the subject by Rob Roy. Then in the summer of 2006 the Bayerls got the chance to attend the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Custer, Wis. The annual three-day event is a mecca for alternative energy and energy-efficiency. It s a riot, he said of this energy fair they attended, noting that it had 20 exhibition tents. Equal Eyes would like to thank Joel Stottrup and the Princeton Union- Eagle for permission to reprint this fascinataing story of architecture. The Cordwood Exterior Walls, Split to add variety and to reduce shrinkage Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 35

36 Assessor Retirements Transitions Barb Cook retired on June 28 th after 27 years with the City of Eden Prairie Assessing Division. She started her assessing career in July 1985 as an Assessing Tech and after two promotions became Appraiser II in 1991 through her date of retirement. Barb has two sons and five grandchildren: Brent (Cindy) Cook of St. Louis Park and children Kelli and Jeanna; and Jeff (Carmen) Cook of Savage and children Logan, Anika and Jordyn. Her grandchildren are very excited that Grandma will have more time to spend with them. Barb s husband Brian is retiring in early September. They have already planned trips to St. Thomas, San Francisco, many trips to the camper in Walker, and they plan on spending lots of time at sporting events for the grandchildren year round. Compiled by Nancy Gunderson, SAMA Clay County Assessor Editorial Committee Member Barb Cook retires from the City of Eden Prairie Barb will be greatly missed, and we all wish her the very best in her well-deserved retirement. Barb Cook Pete Merges & Dale Engel retire as Wright County Local Assessors Andrew Pete Merges has decided to retire after 37 years as a local assessor for the City of Otsego and Rockford Township. Pete started as the Otsego Township Assessor in The township incorporated into a city in At the peak, there were over 500 new homes per year being built in Otsego. Pete started assessing for Rockford Township in He decided to retire from the City of Otsego in 2007 and continued to assess Rockford Township until after the 2012 assessment. Dale Engel has decided to retire after 23 years as the Woodland Township assessor. Dale started assessing for Woodland Township in Dale Engel Pete Merges (left) with Wright County Assessor Greg Kramber With a combination of 60 years of experience as local assessors in Wright County they will be greatly missed. We wish them many happy years of retirement. Congratulations!!! 36 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

37 Revisiting the Retirees: Bruce Stepnick Researched and Written by Corey Erickson, AMA Ramsey County Editorial Committee Member This issue we catch up with Bruce Stepnick, Former City of St. Louis Park Assessor Unlike most of us, Bruce s first job out of school was at least remotely related to real estate appraising and assessing. Bruce started his working life as a mortgage analyst for the St. Paul Companies. From there he moved to a similar position at American National Bank. The job at American National was Bruce s last in the private sector and in 1978 Bruce started an assessing career that lasted 28 years. He started as a Commercial Appraiser with the City of St. Louis Park and after a few short years, was promoted to the top post as City Assessor. Bruce remained as City Assessor until his retirement in In looking back at his time in St. Louis Park, Bruce recalls all of the great people he worked with in the Assessor s Office. Bruce partly credits this to a hiring philosophy that was to hire people who showed future potential and promise, instead of simply making sure the job candidate had a certain level of education and/ or licensure for the job. In fact, Bruce recalls often times filling open appraiser positions with people with no real estate background. Back in those days, Bruce recalls St. Louis Park being a stepping stone jurisdiction for appraisers looking to promote within the assessing field. Bruce gave several examples of former assessors who once worked for him in St. Louis Park who went on to become City and County Assessors. The list includes Bob Wilson the Edina City Assessor, Ned Storla the Coon Rapids City Assessor, and Stephen Baker the Ramsey County Assessor. Bruce s favorite part of assessing was the frequent interaction with the public. Bruce actually enjoyed explaining some of Minnesota s more confusing laws related to property taxes to the citizens of St. Louis Park. In fact, in Bruce s opinion, the most important skill for an assessor to have is the ability to explain difficult laws/ concepts/valuation methodologies to the public. In our conversation, Bruce went so far as to say, If you don t have this skill, get in front of a mirror and start practicing. Maybe large mirrors for our cubicles should now go into the 2013 office supply budgets. Bruce with a giant marlin, caught on a trip to Mexico Early in everyone s career, retirement feels like something far off in the distant future, and not something one gives much thought to. But after a few years tick by, we start to at least consider making financial plans for the eventual day we leave the office for the last time. Having written this column for nearly two years now, I ve noticed that those retirees who started thinking about retirement the earliest are enjoying it the most. Bruce would definitely fall into this category. Bruce recommends finding things to fill your free time well before your retirement to ensure a much easier transition to retired life whenever that may be. Bruce s list of hobbies includes many that he has enjoyed his entire life and some new ones too. Bruce is a big outdoorsman and enjoys trout fishing, and duck, grouse, goose and pheasant hunting to name a few. Because of Bruce s passion for the outdoors, he has also started volunteering for the Bald Eagle Sportsmen s Club in Hugo. In addition to all of the above, Bruce is also very active in his church. At church, Bruce is a member of the Teaching Parish Committee which works to give seminary students a perspective of what life is like in an actual parish. Bruce also volunteers annually for paint-a-thon at his church where church members paint the house of someone who needs a little help. Bruce and his wife Nancy have been married for 36 years. They have three kids, Chris, Ann and Molly and five grandchildren, all boys. Molly s husband Dan is a professional hockey player for a team in Vienna, Austria. No doubt this gives the gang an excuse to occasionally travel to Europe to cheer for Dan. As you can see, Bruce has a very full retirement and is truly enjoying himself. Even with so many interests to fill his schedule, Bruce gives some very practical advice to us future retirees. You have to push yourself harder to do physical activities when you get older. Huh? Here we all thought that if you love to hunt and fish, you will always rather hunt and fish than sit in the Lazy Boy chair with the remote. Turns out after some point in life a certain amount of motivational self-talk is needed. Well, very good advice which following will probably lead to a longer and more satisfying retirement. In closing, Bruce would like to thank the assessment community for always treating him very well. It s nice to hear that one of our retired former colleagues has no regrets about the career choice he made many years ago. Bruce was also quick to mention that if you play your cards right a career in assessing can give you a very comfortable retirement. So to sum things up, if you haven t done so already, start contributing to deferred comp, and get out of your recliner once in a while to start pursuing your many interests. Cheers to Bruce for many more years of the good retired life! Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 37

38 The Chair s Corner: Staying Current with MAAO s Committees CAMA/GIS Committee Written by Randy Lahr, SAMA Chair, MAAO CAMA / GIS Committee Stearns County Most of you reading this article have heard of GIS (Geographical Information System) and probably think you ve got a good idea of what it does, but from what I m seeing in the industry many assessors still aren t using GIS to its full potential. Imagine bringing your hand held mobile device out in the field with you, having a map interface that s already highlighted the parcels you should view in your current quintile. You then click on one of the highlighted parcels and it brings up all of your CAMA data in easily editable fashion. After viewing the property you save the data changes and move onto the next one. No more jotting notes on paper or old field cards, and no sorting cards in street address order. Instead, all is done on the spot without delay. Assessing is fun right! Well now you know the purpose of the MAAO GIS/CAMA committee that was created earlier this year, made up of nine members and representing five regions. Let s face it, in today s assessing world GIS and CAMA are the work horses of our trade. The time has come to have a committee dedicated to finding ways to improve the way these products work across the state. There are many things this committee can delve into, but so far we ve been focusing on GIS topics. In addition, we ve been doing some research and discussions on mobile devices. Our first order of business was to compile a list of GIS layers that counties are currently using. By the time you read this article they should be out on the MAAO website. You will be surprised how many different layers are out there! Our current project is to assemble a survey of the membership to find out what kind of systems they are using. Again, hopefully you will have received this survey by the time you read this article. This will give our committee some direction on which topics to focus on. In 38 Equal Eyes Fall 2012 the future, we hope to share successful mass appraisal techniques, best practices in mass appraisal system development, strengths of alternative CAMA systems, uses of GIS, and likely even develop hands-on computer based mass appraisal training and demonstrations of new computerized valuation techniques. Ever since I worked for Hennepin County 15 years ago, I ve seen the benefits of using GIS. At that time, appraisers shared one computer that had GIS data on it; I was intrigued with what it could do. After working with Stearns County for 12 years, I realize the need to better utilize GIS to improve on efficiencies and equalization. A few years back our county created a web-based GIS program that integrates our CAMA and tax data into GIS. After this took place, it seemed like a door of endless opportunities opened. In today s world of social media and Web 2.0, taxpayers with Twitter, smart phones, and instant information, the public just expects more from us; we need to embrace technology and its advancements. At the formation of this committee I had no idea what other counties had for GIS, or if they had it at all. My personal goal would be to have a common sharing of information across the state so our organization as a whole can benefit from shared learning. For example, recently our county went to mostly paperless work so it just seemed like a natural progression to begin with a mobile device to input our data into a valuation program. Many other counties are using mobile devices in the field. Therefore, it would be nice to coordinate our efforts and find the best device out there. Ramsey County is in the process of testing mobile devices, and Stearns County is working on getting something going for next year s assessment (the results of this testing will be shared on Committee Members: Randy Lahr, Stearns County, Chair Tyler Diersen, Steele County Matt Sapola, Olmstead County John Jacobson, Ramsey County Jane Grossinger, City of St. Michael Dan Whitman, Martin County Lisa Janssen, Washington County Kelly Whitted, Itasca County Kristi Botzek, Sherburne County the MAAO website and I encourage other jurisdictions throughout the state to me if you have some experience with a device - good or bad). Surprisingly, in much of Minnesota the GIS program is a subset of the CAMA system. However, in more and more parts of the country it is the CAMA system that is a subset of GIS. That s how important GIS have become in parts of the world. After all, isn t our work all tied to spatial data, real property? Remember the scenario I mentioned at the beginning? There are many subjects that intersect with the GIS/CAMA Committee as most of the work assessor s do is with either a GIS or CAMA system. Just recently two topics surfaced that our committee is involved with in conjunction with the Agricultural Committee. There was recently a request by a county to acquire Common Land Unit (CLU) data from the USDA office. As expected the county was denied the information citing Section 1619 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 which denies the sharing of private data with non-federal agencies. After some research and discussion with the USDA and the MAAO Agricultural committee it was recommended that MAAO support acquiring further legislation that releases the CLU data to counties throughout the state. This will be a mountainous task since we re dealing with federal law, but the benefits of this data to some counties in the state make it apparent that we need to at least try to get this changed.

39 Chair s Corner, continued CLU data would include field boundaries to aid in calculating the Crop Productivity Index (CPI) as well as the CRP data that so many counties have been denied for years. CPI grading is something that many counties are switching to since CER is no longer a supported soil grading system. Our committee gets involved since this is something that can easily be integrated into a GIS system, although at some cost without the CLU data from USDA. Our committee is sponsoring a class at the Fall Conference addressing ways of getting that CPI data into your GIS system along with other GIS topics. It s been challenging yet rewarding starting up this committee, and I appreciate the confidence MAAO and President Baker have instilled in me to tackle issues that are facing assessors on a daily basis. Please feel free to send me or my committee members s of topics you would like to see addressed or just general information. I will likely be calling on some of you for one thing or another in upcoming months as many of you have great knowledge in this area. Thank you in advance for your efforts. I ve jumped into this committee with both feet, have the backing of eight wonderful committee members, and I will do my best to represent MAAO in a hardworking and respectable manner. EQUAL EYES Call for article submissions We are looking for creative and original content to feature in Equal Eyes. The topic can be on just about anything! From technical assessment related naratives, to light hearted personal stories, we want them all. So if you have been thinking about it in the past, now is your time to act. Go ahead and write that article and send it to us at: editor@mnmaao.org Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 39

40 SOLD!! Lake of the Isles Estate Sale Price: $2,425, E Lake of the Isles Parkway, Minneapolis, MN Home is set on an half acre. Fully renovated with a unique architectural design. Open living spaces and lake views. Large rear yard patio, in-ground pool and pro landscaping. Built as Lake of the Isles Estate Listed at $2,850,000 Total Living Area: 6,606 sf Year Built: Bedrooms 7 Bathrooms 40 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

41 FEATURE Fall Conference head to Breezy Point Written by James Haley Norman County Assessor Managing Editor, Chair MAAO held its 66 th Annual Conference September 23, 2012 through September 26, Breezy Point Resort, near Brainerd, MN was chosen as the location. Breezy Point features great amenities including restaurants, beaches, fantastic golf, and spacious meeting rooms. The timing of the event could not have been more perfect. With the autumn foliage just beginning to turn, and a week of crisp fall temperatures. The week began Sunday with a meeting of the executive council. While the bulk of the business was saved for the Annual Meeting, there was some business that needed to be addressed. The Executive Council was visited by Stephen Behrenbrinker, who presented a draft of the Property Tax Working Group s recommendations to the legislature. Sales ratio topics were discussed, namely the standardization of the coding of property types on the ecrv. Dry fertilizer storage facility exemptions were also discussed at length. Finally, the 2013 budget was approved for presentation to the general membership. In addition, several key board members finished out their terms. Members included Kyle Holmes, Region 4 director; David Armstrong, Region 2 director; and Teresa Mitchell, IS Committee Chair. These MAAO members have put in years of service and should be thanked for their tireless efforts. Monday morning gave way to the Commissioner of Revenue s Session. Unfortunately, Commissioner of Revenue Myron Frans could not be in attendance. Director of Property Tax John Hagen spoke in his place. Mr. Hagen spoke at length on property tax reform, namely agricultural complexity. He also recognized Stephen Baker for his tireless efforts as President of MAAO. John discussed the coming shortage of licensed assessors in the outstate area, followed closely by a discussion on education and the PACE course. Next, Jon Van Nurden gave a brief overview of the changes in methodology of valuation of state assessed property. He gave a summary of the new system and what kind of timing we can expect from the Department of Revenue on these values. The Executive Council meeting on Sunday John was followed by Gary Amundson. Gary presented information on time adjustments. It was decided to get input from assessors on which time adjustment regions each respective county should be in. Mr. Amundson also fielded some questions and concerns on large agricultural Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 41

42 Fall Conference 2012, continued Breezy Point Mayor JoAnne Weaver opened the annual business meeting with information on Breezy Point. Resort staff member Bonnie Tweed also gave an historical account of the property. We also had a guest speaker, IAAO President Debbie Asbury. Ms Asbury presented the organization s activities from the past year. She also presented some goals for the foreseeable future. These included textbook and education reform, IAAO branding, and international expansion. Finally, Debbie gave future locations for the upcoming IAAO Conferences. Ryan Pels and Halan Slinkard Performing at the Annual Meeting value increases due in part to the time adjustments. Drew Imes went on to discuss and promote the ecrv. During his presentation, it was announced that there will be a push to make ecrv adoption mandatory by statute. The ecrv workflow was presented, and the benefits of using the new product were given. After the Commissioner of Revenue session, Past President, and MAAO Property Tax Working Group representative Stephen Behrenbrinker gave an in-depth summary of the group s recommendations to the legislature. This provided an opportunity for MAAO to have any final input to the document. To close out the morning, Marci Moreland, Carlton County Assessor spoke. Marci gave a heartfelt thank you to all those who helped her and her staff complete the disaster reassessment after the flash floods of Marci presented a video of the damage and reassessment. It was an emotion filled speech that recognized those jurisdictions that helped out during this critical time. After lunch, we were treated to entertainment by Ryan Pels and Harlan Slinkard. The group gave an entertaining set of music from Hank Williams to Bob Dylan. Dave Armstrong seconding Dan Whitman for MAAO 2nd Vice President The MAAO Annual Business meeting then proceeded as usual. After the reports of a few key members, plaques and certificates of recognition were awarded. Nancy Wojcik, Secretary / Treasurer, Lori Schwendemann, Online Coordinator, and Teresa Mitchell, IS Committee Chair all received special plaques thanking them for their efforts over the past years. The day closed with golf, fishing, and a boat tour on the new Breezy Point Belle. IAAO President Debbie Asbury Day Two of the conference opened with the Past Presidents Breakfast. Nine MAAO 42 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

43 Fall Conference 2012, continued Past Presidents were in attendance. Past Presidents included: Stephen Hacken, Tom May, Bill Peterson, Bill Effertz, Dave Armstrong, Rob Wagner, Tom Houselog, Cheryl Wall, and Stephen Baker. John Keefe also attended the banquet as 1 st Vice President The business meeting then continued as usual. Committee reports were finished and region director reports were given. A by-law change giving the possibility to separate the positions of Secretary and Treasurer was presented and approved by the MAAO membership. MAAO membership awards were also given out to longtime members. Following next came elections, where the big news was Dan Whitman being elected 2 nd Vice President of MAAO. Other elections included new region directors, and the re-election of Bill Peterson as MAAO Financial Officer. Finally, as expected John Keefe was elected President of MAAO and Marvin Anderson was elected 1 st Vice President. Past Minnesota Cup John Hagen, addressing the banquet Tuesday s seminars followed lunch. A set of great courses were again offered by MAAO. They included: Minnesota Tax Court Roundtable Discussion; Management Topics, taught by Rebecca Malmquist, Matt Gersemehl, and Bob Wilson; and Lakeshore Valuation, taught by Gary Griffen. Tuesday evening brought the annual banquet. Breezy Point did an excellent job preparing the Lakeside Ballroom for our event. The banquet was set in red and had the beautiful lake in the backdrop. President Baker gave an eloquent address that was filled with reflections of the past year, recognition of contributing members, and challenges for the future. Membership awards were given out to 25 year MAAO members; Marvin Anderson, Thomas Carlson, Randal Desmarais, Timothy Falkum, Vernon Krienke, Jane Grossinger, Steven Nelson, Chuck Pelzer, Ellen Trancheff, and Albert Whitcomb. 30 year MAAO members were: Keith Albertson, Steven Robbins, Deanne Heuer, and Byron Stewart. 35 year MAAO members were: Glen Erickson, Ervin Kuchinka, and James Pemble. The banquet proved to be quite entertaining on Tuesday Night Hennepin County Assessor Jim Atchison wins the 2012 Minnesota Cup Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 43

44 Fall Conference 2012, continued The final day of the conference brought the last two educational seminars of the event. Trusts and Life Estates were presented as they relate to homestead classification and special agricultural homestead classification. The course was taught by the Department of Revenue staff. The other seminar was GIS is for everyone, taught by Josh Schoen and Chad Martini. New MAAO President John Keefe addressing the membership The 2012 Fall Conference was a memorable one. With perfect weather, a great location, and an excellent host committee; most members all appeared to have a fantastic week. Breezy Point again did a great job hosting our organization. We will see you next year in Rochester! Past President Cheryl Wall also gave out the 2012 Peter Koole Top Pen Award for outstanding contribution to Equal Eyes. This years runners up were Nancy Gunderson for What s up with the Homestead Market Value Exclusion and Reed Heidelberger for Musselling in on the Chain of Lakes. This year s winner was Michael Stalberger for The Billion Dollar Assessment, State Assessed Property in Minnesota. Past President Wall gave an emotional speech during the presentation, and highlighted a few notes from other Past Presidents. One of the highlights of the night was the passing of the Minnesota Cup. Former recipient and current MAAO President Steve Baker announced that plaques would be given to all past winners. He then gave way to the 2011 recipient, John Hagen, Director of Property Tax, who gave a colorful and technically challenging speech. This year s winner was Jim Atchison, Hennepin County, for challenges with a wetland exemption. The banquet closed with a speech from newly christened MAAO President John Keefe. President Keefe spoke at length of the contributions of Stephen Baker to the organization. Mr. Keefe also discussed goals for the coming year and beyond. One highlight of Mr. Keefe s speech was the announcement that MAAO would attempt to provide online education in the near future. See you next year! 44 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

45 What s New on the MAAO Website: Make it easy to log on! Written by Teresa Mitchel, SAMA Dakota County Information Systems Committee, Chair Do you find logging in to the website onerous because your username is a long address? Well, go ahead and change your username to something short and easy to remember! First, login to using your original username and password. Once you are logged in, go to My Profile and click Edit Profile. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 45

46 MAAO Website, continued Enter a new, shorter username and be sure to review the rest of your profile information and update whatever may have changed. Be sure to click Save! Next time you login the website, it will be a breeze! Hopefully these quick and easy tips will help you take advantage of the resources and features available to you as an MAAO member and you will in turn help grow our professional online community. Any suggestions or ideas can be sent to webmaster@mnmaao.org! REMINDER: Request For Web Resources: The Research and Planning Committee sent out a note to all members requesting resources to share on the MAAO website. There are helpful tools that many offices use that could assist other assessors. The Executive Board thought that it would great to have a location to share these tools/data with each other. The type of information we are looking for includes: applications, survey forms, spreadsheets/guides used in calculations, form letters, and any policy/office procedures. Please send all documents to one of the following members: Michelle.moen@co.isanti.mn.us Paul.sandvik@co.hennepin.mn.us Joshua.hoogland@co.hennepin.mn.us 46 Equal Eyes Fall 2012

47 A Letter From the Editor Every Assessor s Worst Nightmare... The Impossible House (GASP) Written by James Haley, AMA Norman County Assesor Equal Eyes Managing Editor Most of us who work in or have worked in the residential side of the assessment field have been there. It usually happens on a busy day. The weather is usually extreme; hot or cold. It is usually windy and possibly even raining. It will either happen right away in the morning in order to ruin the rest of your day, or it will happen at the very end as a proverbial cherry on top. All seems well, until you walk up to that one impossible house: the assessor proof home. This happened to me several weeks ago as I was nearing the end of a long day of residential field work. I had finished up the prior home and was reshuffling my record cards. I pulled up the next card and saw the notes on the following parcel: 07/ left door hanger, no response, 08/2007 left door hanger, no response, 09/2007 tried to re-measure, beware of dog, left door hanger, no response. So I took a deep breath and went forward to re-assess the home. Predictably, no one answered the door. So I chose to leave a hanger and proceed on my review of the home. I felt like I had been to this house before. I spent the next twenty minutes tripping over toys, getting stabbed in the face with tree branches, and dodging cars on the street while trying to get a photo. I thought to myself: self, if I could write about a property that deters tax assessors, this house would serve as exhibit #1. Then I thought, Wait a minute, I am on the editorial committee, I can write about this house! I decided the best way to convey my frustration with this house was to create an instruction manual on how to replicate it. So here it is folks, A simple guide to making your home impossible to assess. Effective and simple, this guide will give you the perfect remedy for those pesky home inspections from your local assessor: For this guide, we have chosen to start on the exterior. The assessor will likely start here on his re-appraisal. You should know that he will likely need to re-measure the house. So my advice is to make sure you install vinyl siding. Vinyl siding has rounded edges, so this will make attaching a tape measure to the side of the home very aggravating. You will typically want to place your gutters no more than 8 from the edges of each wall. Again, this will further hinder any measurement of the home. Technological gains over the past few years have allowed for assessors to have laser tape measures. But don t worry; just make sure that your siding is white. This will make it nearly impossible for an assessor to use this new tool. You may also want to consider planting lots of shrubs and/or thorny bushes around the perimeter of your home. These bushes will provide protection against anyone trying to get close to the house. Other smart things to keep close to the exterior are: tall TV antennas, a large wooden fence, and any other large immovable objects. Lose objects, although not as daunting, will also provide some deterrence. Examples include: garden hoses, lumber piles, cars, and other miscellaneous bulky items. The assessor will also be taking photos of your property. To make this troublesome, I recommend planting large trees in the front of your house. I have found that pines, elms, or willow trees provide the best cover against photographs. Most counties are now using GIS or pictometry to help reassess homes. Large trees will also provide cover to your home from these photos. Finally, for maximum protection, I recommend keeping a large guard dog anywhere on your property. Ideally, the dog will be chained to the front stoop. If he is intimidating enough, you may be able to scare away any assessor who needs to inspect the property. If you have a pest problem, such as wasps, hornets, or bees, consider refraining from spraying or exterminating the colony / hive. This will surely deter someone who needs to get close to the house. Now for the interior of the house. The first line of defense is delaying, as long as possible, any response to door hangers, letters, or phone calls from the county/ city. When you do respond, be sure to schedule, cancel and then reschedule any appointment several times. Also, try to schedule your appointment outside of normal business hours. It is best to make the inspection as awkward and inconvenient as possible. Be unsure of any relevant information pertaining to your home. Try having a family member napping in one of the bedrooms. Keep your aggravated pet locked in the kitchen or bathroom during the view. Finally, if you are remodeling, be sure to keep the project half finished with an undetermined completion date. Just remember that the assessor will likely want to come back if this is the case. For the basement, be sure keep large hard to move objects such as gun safes, couches, or china cabinets in front of the access point. The assessor will be very interested in viewing this level of the home. Key aspects to your home s mechanical systems, structural make-up, and electrical / plumbing are typically exposed somewhere in the basement. To further hinder inspection of these items, make sure that the basement is dark and cluttered. Try not to replace any burnt out light bulbs. In addition, pull-string lights located in the center of a dark and cluttered room are the especially effective. For all levels of the home; be sure to install steep and hard-to-navigate staircases. You may even want to consider leaving hazardous trip inducing items on the stairwell. However, trips, slips and falls are the number one accident in the workplace, so your assessor will likely be trained to avoid them. These are just a few tips. There is plenty more that you can do. Just remember that a little ingenuity can go a long way to creating a lot of inconvenience for your local assessor. So that about sums it up: the guide to creating an impossible, assessor proof home. Remarkably, it is taken from real world experience. My only hope with the guide is that no one uses it. After all, I ve got a few more houses to look at this year. Fall 2012 Equal Eyes 47