Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency Commercial Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes for April 23, 2009 Regina, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency Commercial Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes for April 23, 2009 Regina, Saskatchewan Joint Session with City Advisory Committee Commercial Members Present: Craig Melvin, Committee Chair, SAMA Board Chair Fred Clipsham, City Sector Board Member (non-voting) Sharon Armstrong, Urban Sector Board Member (nonvoting) Neil Hardy, Rural Sector Board Member (non-voting) Ray Sass, Education Sector Board Member (non-voting) Rick Brunsdon, Board Member (non-voting) Myron Knafelc, Board Member (non-voting) Rob Lawrence, Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS Marilyn Braun-Pollon, Canadian Federation of Independent Business Tom Mullin, Hotels Association of Saskatchewan Ken Marsh, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association David Loader, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Jonathan Potts, Tourism Saskatchewan Michael Kehler for Robert Schultze, Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association Grace Muzyka, Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada City Members Present: Fred Clipsham, Committee Chair, City Sector Board Member Craig Melvin, SAMA Board Chair Dan Danielson, SAMA Board Member Ron Thomas, SAMA Board Member (non-voting) John Wagner, SAMA Board Member (non-voting) Don Barr for Pat Fiacco, City of Regina Commercial Observers Present: Norm Magnin, Ministry of Municipal Affairs Michael Mitchell for Colleen Mackenzie, Enterprise Saskatchewan Dennis Lowe for Cam Pelzer, Ministry of Energy and Resources Don Barr, City of Regina Les Smith, City of Saskatoon Joe Day, City of Prince Albert Michael Kehler, City of Swift Current City Observers Present: John Edwards, Ministry of Municipal Affairs Joe Day, City of Prince Albert Les Smith, City of Saskatoon Other Observers Present: Clint Repski, Ministry of Education SAMA Administration Present: Irwin Blank, CEO Stuart McDonald, Commercial Committee Secretary Brad Korbo, City Committee Secretary Steve Suchan, Managing Director of Technical Services and Policy Shaun Cooney, Director of Policy and Liaison Rick Lee, Managing Director of Information Services Agenda Item: 1. Call to Order Commercial Advisory Committee Chair C. Melvin called the joint session of the City Advisory Committee and Commercial Advisory Committee to order at 10:05 a.m. 2. Opening Remarks C. Melvin introduced Co-chair F. Clipsham and welcomed committee members and observers to the meeting and: Asked committee members that if they had any arising issues of interest to both committees, that they bring them forth at this joint session portion of the meeting. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 1

Noted that the Board was looking for feedback on how to best proceed with obtaining feedback on the implementation of the 2009 Revaluation (Agenda Item No. 8f). Noted that the Agency is beginning discussions on the shortening of the revaluation cycle and is seeking your views with the goal of making the policy decision by the end of 2009 (Agenda Item No. 9a). City Advisory Committee Chair F. Clipsham chaired the joint session of the City and Commercial Advisory Committees. 3. Introductions Members and observers introduced themselves. 3a. Minutes Moved by R. Lawrence/M. Braun-Pollon than the minutes of the joint session of the City and Commercial Advisory Committee meeting for November 20, 2008 be approved. Carried 4. Presentation of materials Materials for Business Meeting Agenda Items 8-10 were presented to the joint session. 4a. Progress Reports and Appeals Trends B. Korbo reported for SAMA: So far appeals are light. Assessment rolls are open but not too many have closed because the rolls are now open for 60 days. 36 open houses booked. Some open houses have been cancelled due to lack of interest. D. Barr reported for the City of Regina: Assessment roll closed in February. 210 appeals 10 residential, 90 multi-family. About $2.6 million and risk previously >$10 million at risk. M. Kehler reported for the City of Swift Current: Assessment roll closed April 21 st. 38 appeals compared to 165 appeals in 2005. <1/3 of appeals are residential. Board of Revision hearings will be held in June. L. Smith reported for the City of Saskatoon: Assessment roll closed April 20 th. 413 appeals 240 commercial, 61 multi-family, 100+ residential and condominium. In 2005, >700 appeals. All major malls have been appealed. J. Day reported for the City of Prince Albert: Assessment roll closed May 15 th. Low appeal activity so far only 1 appeal received. B. Korbo reported for the City of Moose Jaw: Assessment roll open for another month. 15 appeals so far. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 2

Appraisers should be congratulated they have done an excellent job, especially with the commercial sector. This year s revaluation was the biggest change yet, so was expecting a lot more appeals than received. Education tax in rural areas has gone down, which may be contributing to a lower appeal rate. City of Regina Education tax will be increasing for larger commercial properties in urban areas the impact is different than in rural areas. Commercial property owners will still have questions when the tax notices come out. There still may be properties that are over-assessed, but taxes are going down, so they don t appeal. 4b. SAMA 2009 Value Trends S. Cooney provided a PowerPoint presentation and handout on value trends for SAMA jurisdictions. 4c. SAMAView Update R. Lee demonstrated the agency s new web-based access to assessment information. Appraisal industry needs access to more detailed property information than is available on SAMAView. Should get more current satellite imagery. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada The ability to get property specific assessment information from the website is appositive change, however, the satellite imagery is too low a resolution to be useful. City of Regina Their web access has saved appraiser time in answering property owner questions. Web access lets property owners do their own comparisons. Prior to web access 24,000 tracked phone calls, >10,000 office visits. With web access 125,000 web searches, <100 office visits, about 100 phone calls. If a property can t be found in the map view, it can be located by a text search. The imagery collaborative is currently in the process of purchasing 0.6m high-resolution imagery of the entire province. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 3

4d. Administrator Workshops S. Suchan reported on the municipal administrator training workshops held in January and the Board of Revision workshops held in March. Assessors tend to be well versed in supporting court decisions and less versed in those that have been lost. Concerned that selective work might be done in the material presented. The standard format for the document the assessor prepares should be posted on the SAMA website, for a typical person who has no knowledge of the format. The assessor should provide the standard document prior to the 20 day deadline if it has been completed for a particular appeal. Ministry of Municipal Affairs Board of Revision workshop is organized by Government Services, Municipal Affairs Branch. SAMA, SMB and administrator associations all have a role. Resources for boards of revision have been prepared and posted on the Ministry s website. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada The Board of Revision should be apprised of the role of the assessor, assessment appraiser, and of the property owner s appeal appraiser. For transparency purposes should also invite the tax industry side to participate in the Board of Revision workshops. When there is a precedent setting decision from the Court of Appeal appraisers are informed of the decision and to abide by it. The recent Court of Appeal decision with respect to delivery time for an appeal was discussed at the Board of Revision workshop. 4e. Support of Value Preparations S. Suchan reported on the agency s preparations for assessment appeals in 2009. Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association Observed that because the current base date is below market value, it may be affecting the number of appeals. City of Saskatoon Work from a revenue neutral model using effective tax rates. If residential increases 34%, then the effective tax rate is reduced 34%. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada Agrees that when the current base date is below market value, that there will be fewer appeals. When assessed value is below current market value, then the property owner is not worried. Support of value training is good for getting assessors on the same page. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 4

The concept of revenue neutral is important mill rates should go down when assessments go up. Assessment and tax policy are not that well separated. A lot more municipalities are showing the mill rate to get the same revenue and the mill rate for additional revenue. 4f. Fall 2009 Revaluation Debriefing Sessions 4g. Assessment Services 2009 Program Update C. Melvin led a discussion on how the agency might best hear from the public, particularly in a revaluation year. Canadian Federation of Independent Business Add a revaluation feedback button on the SAMA website. Track the number of hits on SAMAView. Email anyone actively using the website. Ministry of Municipal Affairs Need to consider the target group that you want input from. Ask for feedback to particular questions using the website. Survey those that go through the appeal process. A pop up survey for anyone using the website or SAMAView. Low attendance at past regional meetings brings their value into question. The agency wants to stay responsive to the public. Don t want to cut the public off. Rural Advisory Committee suggested taking the question of regional meetings to the annual meeting. B. Korbo reported on the agency s 2009 assessment services program. Finishing annual maintenance now and moving into support of value next Support of value will go longer with assessment rolls being open for 60 days instead of 30 days as in the past. Lean business process improvements are being developed now for next year s annual maintenance program involving client municipalities in the development process. A client survey is being completed followup will be on how to better our services to our clients. Lean business process improvements are also being developed for the general reinspection program. Agricultural land will be reinspected using the new processes this year. Support of value for the 2009 Revaluation is the first priority this year. There won t be a massive increase in reinspections this year working on getting the new processes in place. Will be eliminating hold over reinspections all reinspection that are started this year will be implemented next year, and not held over for 2-3 years before implementing. Lean business process improvements will benefit assessment services program delivery. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 5

4h. 2010-2013 Budget Update I. Blank reported on the status of preparations of the agency s 2010-2013 business and financial plans: Not receiving the 2009 Supplementary Budget funding impacted the general reinspection program. To handle the significant increase in annual maintenance, staff resources had to be taken from the reinspection program, which delayed some of the gains planned for reinspection for another year. The agency needs a 3-4 fold increase in the number of reinspections completed annually in order to get the general reinspection program on track. First step will be achieved through Lean business process improvements, then new technologies, and finally some additional appraisers. The agency s standard operating procedure has been to take resources from general reinspections to meet other needs. The agency has received substantial budget increases of about $900,000 over the past few years. Inflationary adjustments use up most of that money, plus 4 appraisers were hired each year. The agency is digging itself out of a hole of managed vacancies. Six years ago the agency was managing 15-20 vacant positions to balance its budget. Annual maintenance workload is increasing over 25% per year. Municipalities do not pay a higher requisition to cover the added cost of increased annual maintenance. The municipal requisition is frozen until the 40:30:30 funding levels are reached. The annual budget consultation meeting with stakeholders will be on June 3 rd. The Board will set its budget July 3 rd and provide the budget to stakeholders by the July 15 th deadline. The agency needs to make sure properties are reinspected in order to eliminate substantial discrepancies that could impact getting the correct market value assessment. Lunch 12:10 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. 4i. Revaluation Cycle Consultation S. Suchan presented a discussion paper on the question of shortening the revaluation cycle and the lag time between the base date and the revaluation implementation date. Canadian Federation of Independent Business Inquired as to the number of appeals in jurisdictions that have gone to a shorter revaluation cycle. City of Regina Need to see if there is a different way to manage the tax policy side. Preparing preliminary and final values means doing the valuation twice. Should also consider taking tax policy off the assessment notice. De-linking is a poor term. We need to look at all parts (appeals, roll processes, tax policy) to see how to make it better. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 6

Ministry of Municipal Affairs The current process of providing preliminary values to government by January 1 st provides the opportunity for government to analyze shifts. For this revaluation assessment service providers were 3 months late in submitting all of the preliminary values. The province consults with over 55 organizations. Cabinet announced the percentages of value in September 2008. The first revaluations were less predictable with more unknowns. No changes were made to the percentage of value for the 2009 Revaluation. Inquired as to (1) Could assessment service providers deliver on a shorter revaluation cycle? and (2) What would be the added cost of a shorter revaluation cycle? Will provide Ministry s report from 2005. Taking percentages of value off the assessment notice becomes an issue of transparency. Should consult with government ministries Municipal Affairs, Education, SMB and Enterprise Saskatchewan. What would the cost be to the cities? City of Regina is staging to be able to handle a shorter revaluation cycle. Working to keep sales verification current. City of Saskatoon would need 2-3 people.. a 7-8% increase. City of Prince Albert has not done any cost analysis. They are keeping sales verification up-to-date. On a shorter revaluation would factor up instead of doing a batch revaluation. City of Swift Current can t see a significant increase in cost for more frequent revaluations. The city already sends out assessment notices and holds a board of revision each year. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada Noted that if appeals are less, then a shorter revaluation cycle may not be as much additional workload as anticipated. Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association Need to be consistent in the number of years of sales data for each type of property. A shorter revaluation cycle would smooth out the change in assessment values. It would blend the changes over time. De-linking assessment policy could take the province out of the loop with respect to setting percentage of value. Some additional resources will be needed to shorten the revaluation cycle and still keep the general reinspection program on track. The 2010-2013 budget will triple the rate of production for reinspections, and ask to have the reinspection cycle extended 4 years. Some would say that we are not on a market value standard because the four-year revaluation cycle is not current enough. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 7

Want to be in a position by November 2009 to get the recommendations of the advisory committees. 4j. SAMA Annual Meeting C. Melvin circulated the draft agenda for the 2009 Annual Meeting and reported that three resolutions had been received. The Board is considering opening up the process to allow more emergent resolutions. Inquiry made as to whether the deadline dates set in the resolution for annual maintenance are doable? o Different municipalities have different deadline requirements. o Are taking action to meet the specific requirements of each municipality. Ministry of Education reported that: o 3 standardized mill rates have been set for industrial property. o Resolving issues with (1) condominiumized buildings and (2) commercial properties that are split to come in below a particular threshold. o $103 million reduction in education property taxes in 2009. o The standardized mill rated for 2010 have already been announced. o The mill rate is uniform across all municipalities. Canadian Federation of Independent Business recommended that as revenues continue to be strong in the Province that the thresholds and mill rates should be reduced. City of Regina reported that property owners have raised concerns that small business tenants in larger properties in the higher mill rate category will end up paying the higher mill rate. The joint session adjourned at 2:20 p.m. to reconvene in separate business meetings. Business Meeting Members Present: Craig Melvin, Committee Chair, SAMA Board Chair Sharon Armstrong, Urban Sector Board Member (nonvoting) Neil Hardy, Rural Sector Board Member (non-voting) Ray Sass, Education Sector Board Member (non-voting) Rick Brunsdon, Board Member (non-voting) Myron Knafelc, Board Member (non-voting) Rob Lawrence, Association of Saskatchewan REALTORS Marilyn Braun-Pollon, Canadian Federation of Independent Business Tom Mullin, Hotels Association of Saskatchewan Ken Marsh, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association David Loader, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Jonathan Potts, Tourism Saskatchewan Michael Kehler for Robert Schultze, Sask. Assessment Appraisers Association Grace Muzyka, Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada Observers Present: Norm Magnin, Ministry of Municipal Affairs Michael Mitchell for Colleen Mackenzie, Enterprise Saskatchewan Michael Kehler, City of Swift Current SAMA Administration Present: Irwin Blank, CEO Stuart McDonald, Commercial Committee Secretary Steve Suchan, Managing Director of Technical Services and Policy Shaun Cooney, Director of Policy and Liaison SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 8

Members Absent: Fred Clipsham, City Sector Board Member (non-voting) Vacant, Saskatoon Broadway Business Improvement District Michael Huber, Regina Downtown Business Improvement District Vacant, Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority Vacant, Ted Hillstead, Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce John Hopkins, Regina & District Chamber of Commerce Laurie Ell, Building Owners and Managers Association Frank Zinner, Canadian Property Tax Association Alan Thomarat, Saskatchewan Home Builders Association Rick Jukes, National Golf Course Owners Association, Saskatchewan Chapter Garth Gish, Inland Terminal Association of Canada Pat Earl, Western Grain Elevator Association Tax Committee Darrell Zwarych, Saskatchewan Mining Association Kevin Olmstead, Railway Association of Canada Observers Absent: Cam Pelzer, Ministry of Energy and Resources Don Barr, City of Regina Les Smith, City of Saskatoon Joe Day, City of Prince Albert Vacant, City of Moose Jaw Cameron Duncan, City of North Battleford Agenda Item: Call to Order 5. Approval of the Business Meeting Agenda 6. Minutes from November 20, 2008 Committee Chair C. Melvin reconvened the business meeting of the Commercial Advisory Committee at 2:25 p.m. Moved by M. Kehler that the business meeting agenda be approved. G. Muzyka noted a correction to be made to Agenda Item No. 4a. The corrected item should read: The Condo Act says that you don t need to consider a reserve fund if all units are owned by one owner. When one unit is sold then need to set up a reserve fund. (The correction was to change 12 units to all units ) Moved by M. Braun-Pollon that the minutes of the Commercial Advisory Committee s meeting for November 20, 2008 be approved as corrected. 7. Business Arising from the Minutes Action item arising from Agenda Item No. 8a Moved by R. Lawrence that the valuation of multiple versus single condominium ownership be reviewed and that a technical guideline be brought to the April 2009 committee meeting. S. Suchan reported that: The issue was taken to the SAMA City Assessor Committee. A draft guideline has been prepared, which will be reviewed/finalized by the committee next week. A copy of the draft guideline will also be provided to G. Muzyka and R. Lawrence for their feedback before May 1 st. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers Suggested checking for Alberta case law. Observed that rented condos are generally not in the same condition as single ownership condos. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 9

8a-8f Suggested that properties should be inspected when making a decision on which approach to use. Noted that the difference in value is substantial between apartment style condos and single owner condos. Chair C. Melvin asked if there was any addition discussion with respect to Agenda Items No. 8a-8f. Fall 2009 Revaluation Debriefing Sessions (Agenda Item No. 8f) Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association suggested that the agency could ask stakeholders to survey their members. SAMAView Update (Agenda Item No. 8c) Canadian Federation of Independent Business advised that the CFIB would send the link to SAMAView out to its membership. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada reported that the fee appraisers in rural Saskatchewan appreciate the access to information provided through SAMAView. suggested that more property details should be provided on SAMAView. Moved by G. Muzyka that Agenda Item Nos. 8a-8f be received. 9a. Revaluation Cycle Consultation Canadian Federation of Independent Business Will be surveying their membership on the length of the revaluation cycle. Questioned whether different cycles for different municipalities might be an option. Have seen substantial value increases in 2007 and 2008, with some softening in values in 2009. Concerned that a 4-year cycle can handle the effect of changes in the market. Picking the base date is important. The Farm Credit Corporation tracks changes in farm land values across the province could their information be accessed if needed by the province? Saskatchewan Assessment Appraisers Association The next revaluation base date will be 2010. Property owners want stability without major shifts. A one-year cycle would not be feasible. If minimal change in market value for smaller urban municipalities and rural municipalities, then can assume there would be minimal impact on those communities. Saskatchewan Association of the Appraisal Institute of Canada Market valuations are fairly new in Saskatchewan. The new valuation processes that the agency is moving to will put it in a better position to update the cycle more frequently. The added cost should be minimal. What is happening in the assessment world with a longer revaluation cycle, is contrary to the market. SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 10

Could consider just shortening the base date lag to 18 months, and leave the reinspection cycle at 4 years. Government may want a more accurate assessment that stays closer to the market value of properties. Does IAAO have a standard for revaluation cycle length? Could cities shorten their cycle now and SAMA do it later? Tax policies and mill rates would be more complicated if some municipalities were on a different cycle. No province has multiple base dates now. The main impact on municipalities would be the need to prepare a new assessment roll more frequently. There are a lot of one-person municipal offices and more frequent revaluations would be a lot of work for them because they would have to send out assessment notices more often. The question was asked as to the need for provincial percentages of value. Moved by M. Kehler that the report be received. 9b. 2010-2013 Budget Update Moved by R. Lawrence that the report be received. 10a. Assessment Services 2009 Program Update 10b. SAMA Annual Meeting Moved by M. Kehler that the reports be received. 11. Other Business SAMA Annual Meeting is on June 17, 2009 in Regina. All advisory committee members are invited to attend. Next meeting of the Commercial Advisory Committee has been scheduled for November 19, 2009 12. Adjournment Moved by M. Kehler that the meeting adjourn at 3:20 p.m. Original signed by Stuart McDonald Stuart McDonald Committee Secretary SAMA Commercial Advisory Committee 11