EQUAL EYES - maao.memberclicks.net€¦ · Equal Eyes do not necessarily represent a policy position of the Minnesoate Association of Assessing Officers. Metro Transit - Light Rail

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EQUAL EYESSummer 2005 Volume 27, Number 101

Official Publication of the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers

2 EQUAL EYES SUMMER 2005

Summer 2 0 0 5CONTENTS

EQUAL EYES

FeaturesLight Rail Transit,Effertz...............................................14Recent Developments in Hotel Valuation, Pasternacki.......................................................................24Using Handheld Devices for Mass Appraisal,Madsen............................................................................28MAAO 2005 Summer Seminars, Olsson.......................34

DepartmentsAnnouncements..................................................................3Boards,Directors,Chairs,and Representatives........................4President’s Message, Armstrong................................................6Commissioner’s Comments.......................................................7IAAO Update, Krupski.................................................................8In My Opinion, Hacken.................................................9Out of the Past, Wojcik.................................................10Transitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11MAAP Update, Hollerman.................................................12Dear John, Hagen...................................................................20Views You Can Use, Betz..........................................22Featured Residential Property, Johnson................................23Let’s Get Acquainted, Cote..................................................27State Board of Assessor, Lundgren............................................31On the Go with MAAO.........................................................38As I See It, Malmquist............................................................45

Volume 27, Number 101

Article to suggest, letter to theEditor, or any othercorrespondence forEQUAL EYES?

Send to:Rebecca MalmquistManaging Editor14600 Minnetonka BoulevardMinnetonka, MN 55345Phone: 952.939.8222Fax: [email protected]

Visitthe MAAO website at:www.mnmaao.org

The statements made or opinions expressed by authors inEqual Eyes do not necessarily represent a policy position of

the Minnesoate Association of Assessing Officers.

Metro Transit -Light Rail

Minneapolis, MN

The light rail system inMinneapolis currently operates

on one rail line known as the“Hiawatha Line” or “Route 54”.

The line opened in June 2004and full service to the airport

and the Mall of America beganin December 2004.

Read more Page 14

On the Cover


Announcements

Next Issue Deadline

Fall ConferenceOctober 9-12, 2005Marriott SW, Minnetonka, MN

IAAO AnnualConferenceSeptember 18-21, 2005Anchorage, Alaska

Website ReminderUpdate your address, phone number,

and email address at www.mnmaao.org

September 1, 2005email articles [email protected]

Conference Calendar


EQUAL EYES

Jan Olsson, AMA, RESCity of PlymouthAssociate Editor

Nancy Wojcik, SAMACity of Brooklyn Center

Rebecca Malmquist, SAMACity of Minnetonka

Managing Editor, Chair

Michelle Cote, SAMAPolk County

Executive BoardPresident

David Armstrong, SAMALe Sueur County Assessor

88 S Park AvenueLe Center, MN 56057

507.357.8215 Fax [email protected]

First Vice PresidentWilliam Peterson, SAMA, CAE

Dakota County Assessor1590 W Highway 55Hastings, MN 55033


Second Vice PresidentRobert Wagner, SAMAPolk County Assessor

612 North Broadway, Suite 201Crookston, MN 56716-1452


Secretary/TreasurerJudy Remer, SAMA

Bloomington Chief Commercial Appraiser1800 West Old Shakopee Road

Bloomington, MN 55431952.563.8707 Fax 952.563.4741

[email protected]

Past PresidentTom May, SAMA, RES

Hennepin County AssessorA-2103 Government Center

Minneapolis, MN 55487612.348.3046 Fax 612.348.8751

[email protected]

Region DirectorsRegion 1

Robert Pickett, SAMAFillmore County Assessor

[email protected]

Region 3Gary Grossinger, SAMA

Stearns County Assessor320.656.3685

[email protected]

Region 2Julie Roisen, SAMA, CAE

Blue Earth County Assessor507.389.8257

[email protected]

Region 4Martyn Schmidt, SAMA

Crow Wing County Assessor218.824.1009

[email protected]

Region 7Robert Hansen, SAMA

Hubbard County Assessor218.732.3452

[email protected]

Region 9Nancy Bye, SAMA, CAEPlymouth City Assessor

[email protected]

Region 8JoAnn Kerian, SAMA

Marshall County Assessor218.745.5331

[email protected]

Region 6Connie Erickson, SAMA

Yellow Medicine County Assessor507.567.3628

[email protected]

Region 5Dean Champine, SAMALyon County Assessor

[email protected]

Editorial BoardMarci Moreland, CMA

Carlton County

Stephen Hacken, SAMAWinona County


Steve Hurni320.632.3949

Big Stone, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec,Kandiyohi, Meeker, Mille Lacs,Morrison, Pine, Pope, Stearns,

Stevens, Traverse, Wilkin

Department of Revenue Representativesand the Areas They Represent

Gary Amundson218.575.3183

Aitkin, Carlton, Cass, Cook,Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Itasca,

Koochiching, Lake, Otter Tail,St. Louis, Todd, Wadena

Tom Nash507.359.7022

Brown, Cottonwood, Jackson,Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin,

Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone,Redwood, Rock, Watonwan

Larry Austin651.556.6098

Anoka, Carver, Dakota, HennepinRamsey, Scott, Washington

Al Heim651.470.9893 (Cell)

Benton, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle,McLeod, Renville, Sherburne, Sibley,

Swift, Wrignt, Yellow Medicine

Brad Averbeck218.846.1243

Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater,Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods,

Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman,Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau

Lloyd McCormick507.332.5520

Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault,Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston,

Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele,Wabasha, Waseca, Winona

Committee ChairsAgriculturalRobert Anderson, SAMA325 N Sibley Ave NLitchfield, MN 55355320.693.5206 Fax 320.693.5440

EducationJudy Friesen, SAMAPO Box 248New Ulm, MN 56073-0248507.233.6609 Fax 507.359.1430

Commercial/IndustrialJim Atchison, SAMAA-2103 Government CenterMinneapolis, MN 55487612.348.4567 Fax 612.348.8751

Information SystemsBruce Sanders, SAMA, CAEPO Box 1180Maple Grove, MN 55311-6180763.494.6254 Fax 763.494.6416

LegislativeSteve Kuha, SAMAPO Box 3000Walker, MN 56484218.547.3300 X239 Fax 218.547.2440

Long Range PlanningTom May, SAMA, RESA-2103 Government CenterMinneapolis, MN 55487612.348.3046 Fax 612.348.8751

MembershipCarol Schutz, SAMA629 N 11th StreetMontevideo, MN 56265320.269.7696 Fax 320.269.7412

NominatingThomas Dybing, SAMA304 S MarshallCaledonia, MN 55921507.725.5801 Fax 507.725.2647

Research and PlanningRobert Wagner, SAMA612 North Broadway, Ste 201Crookston, MN 56716-1452218.281.4186 Fax 218.281.3669

Rules and ResolutionsStephen Behrenbrinker, SAMA, CAE400 2nd St SSt. Cloud, MN 56301320.650.3352 Fax 320.255.7205

Sales RatioStephen Baker, SAMA, CAE50 W Kellogg Blvd, Ste 840St. Paul, MN 55102-1657651.266.2005 Fax 651.266.2001

ScholarshipTom May, SAMA, RESA-2103 Government CenterMinneapolis, MN 55487612.348.3046 Fax 612.348.8751

Membership CoordinatorJulie Roisen, SAMA, CAEPO Box 8608Mankato, MN 56002507.389.8257 Fax 507.389.8344

Conference CoordinatorPaul Knutson, SAMA, RES320 NW 3rd St, Ste 4Faribault, MN 55021-6100507.332.6102 Fax 507.332.5999

FinanceBill Effertz, SAMAA-2103 Government CenterMinneapolis, MN 55487612.348.3388 Fax 612.348.8751

Silent AuctionRachel Freeman, CMAPO Box 8608Mankato, MN 56002507.389.8257 Fax 507.389.8344

Tax CourtJack Pasternacki, SAMA, CAE1800 West Old Shakopee RdBloomington, MN 55431952.563.8708 Fax 952.563.4741

Conference 2005Richard Toy, SAMA, CAERebecca Malmquist, SAMA14600 Minnetonka BoulevardMinnetonka, MN 55345952.939.8200 Fax 952.939.8243Tamara Doolittle, SAMAA-2103 Government CenterMinneapolis, MN 55487612.348.3046 Fax 612.348.8751


President’sMessage

MAAO President 2004-2005Dave Armstrong

Written by Dave Armstrong, SAMALe Sueur County Assessor

Local boards are done, State board is over,and County board is finished. Now all Ihave to do is finish the president’s messageand I can start enjoying summer!

I hope all of you got a copy of the newproperty tax legislation??? (tongue incheek)

Summer Seminars were a great successagain this year with over 430 registrants. Ibelieve this was our biggest registrationever. I would like to thank both theEducation Committee for the great job theydid in organizing the seminars, and PaulKnutson for arranging the space at theHoliday Inn. Rachel Freeman did anotheroutstanding job of setting up and runningthe silent auction, which took in $1171.50.These proceeds will go towards purchasinga new camera for Equal Eyes. Otherhighlights include Tom May donating theproceeds from the TV he raffled (which hewon at fall conference) to the Dan FranklinScholarship fund. Also, the print donatedby Region 2 was raffled off and brought inabout $350.00 for Equal Eyes. All theraffles seem to be paying off!

In the last issue of Equal Eyes, I stated theExecutive Board had voted to have MAAOadministrate all weeklong courses that hadpreviously been administered by theUniversity of Minnesota. At the most recentExecutive Board meeting in May, the boardvoted to have MAAO collaborate with St.

Cloud State University to review presentweek-long courses, develop new courses,and work with present MAAO instructorson the curriculum. The Executive Boardpassed a motion to have a committeeconsisting of the MAAO President and theMAAO Education Chair people, and JulieRoisen and Steve Behrenbrinker, meet withSt. Cloud State University to discuss theeducation plan.

You can now take the residential case studyexam - contact Pam Lundgren at the Boardof Assessors for details.

The Education Committee’s goal for thisyear is to have all MAAO educationalofferings posted on the MAAO website byFebruary 1, 2006. This will allow allAssessors offices’ the ability to plan, in full,for the following year.

Speaking of the MAAO website, theExecutive Board voted to have theInformation Systems committee purchaseand set up a list server from Net Dynasty.This will allow our membershipcoordinator, Julie Roisen, to post joblistings on the server. Each posting willthen be sent to all MAAO members. Thereis a catch; all email addresses must beregistered in the “member’s only” sectionof the site in order to receive these alerts.The following will explain how to checkor change your email address.

Every member is initially assigned ausername and password. The username isa combination of the member’s first and lastnames minus the space. For example, theusername for John Doe is johndoe. Keepin mind that the username being used is thatwhich is currently in the membershipdatabase. Please look at your Equal Eyesmailing label, or any other MAAOpublication for clarification. Your initial

password is the member’s first name. Inthe example from above, John Doe’s initialpassword is john. Neither the username orpassword entries are case-sensitive. Ifunable to gain entry to the member’s areaafter a few attempts, click on the Webmasterlink on the bottom of the home page oremail [email protected].

Once you have gained access to themember’s only section, all members shouldchange their password. Simply click on the“change my password” link at the bottomof the page and follow the prompts. Allmembers are strongly encouraged to changetheir files and update all data regularly,especially their email addresses. This isextremely important as MAAO isprogressing towards having allcommunication and correspondence,including Equal Eyes, done via email.

Gordon Folkman, Director Property TaxDivision, wants the MAAO to work withthe Department of Revenue to establishpolicies and/or guidelines for implementingand valuing “Green Acres,” resorts andresidential property. I will be calling variousAssessors and asking them to take part inthese discussions. He would like to startdiscussion on these topics as soon as thespecial session is over, or by July 1st,whichever comes first.

Finally, Fall Conference is being heldOctober 9th –12th at the Marriott hotel inMinnetonka. The conference committeeconsisting of Richard Toy, TamaraDoolittle and Rebecca Malmquist has atwo-hour cruise of Lake Minnetonkaplanned for Monday, October 10th. We willend the general meeting early and take thetransportation arranged by the committeeto and from the lake. The committee haspromised it will be 75 and sunny, so markyour calendars and have a great experienceat the MAAO Fall conference.


Commissioner’s CommentsProperty taxes are hard enough to understand in English!

Submitted by Esme Evans

Commissioner of RevenueDan Salomone

Do you ever feel as though the world ischanging all around you? It’s not yourimagination. Once it was easy (although notreally accurate) to assume all Minnesotanscame from the same northern Europeanstock—but no longer. People fromthroughout the world now call Minnesotahome.

One of the best ways to get a sense of thescope of these changes is to visit the StateDemographic Center’s website, at http://www.demography.state.mn.us. The centerpublishes reports and updates designed tohelp citizens, businesses and governmentat all levels gain a better understanding ofhow our state is affected by trends inpopulation and in the economy.

For example, I learned the following fromthe June 2004 issue of the DemographyCenter’s Population Notes:

• Since the 1970s, Minnesota hasseen successive waves of internationalimmigration, starting with refugees fromSoutheast Asia in the 1970s and 1980s.Following the collapse of the Soviet Unionin 1991 and the civil war in the formerYugoslavia in the mid-1990s, increasednumber of refugees from Eastern Europecame in the 1990s. Famine and civil warbrought refugees from Africa.

• War, economic collapse and civilstrife at home are not the only factors thatbring people to Minnesota. High-techindustries have attracted well-educatedworkers from India, China and Pakistan.

• Overall, in the 1990s, Minnesotacreated jobs at a rate twice that of itspopulation growth. Workers have beenespecially scarce in the parts of the statewith aging and declining populations—primarily in the southwestern and westerncounties, and in the food processingindustries. Latinos, some from other states

and some from Mexico and other LatinAmerican countries, have helped to fill thegap.

A January 2005 report on populationprojections says that Minnesota’s Latinopopulation is projected to almost triplebetween 2000 and 2030. By 2025, peopleof Hispanic or Latino origin will surpassAfrican Americans as Minnesota’s largestminority group.

I also learned that more than 80 languagesare spoken in Minnesota.

Helping these new citizens learn about theirrights and responsibilities as citizens andtaxpayers will be an ongoing challenge forall of us in government for the foreseeablefuture.

One important step is to provide taxinformation in languages other thanEnglish. Our Income Tax division hasbilingual employees who are available toanswer questions from Spanish, Hmong,Vietnamese and Somali taxpayers. We have

Spanish speakers who can help withcollection and sales tax issues.

We also have a special project under wayto translate key information into Spanish.Of special interest to property taxadministrators are two property tax factsheets that are now available:

• Cómo apelar el avalúo oclasificación de su propiedad (Appealingthe Value or Classification of YourProperty)

• Preparación de una apelación antelas Juntas de Apelación e IgualaciónTributaria locales y de su condado(Preparing an Appeal to Your Local andCounty Boards of Appeal and Equalization)

These fact sheets are posted on our website(www.taxes.state.mn.us), in a print-friendlyformat. You can get to them two ways: inthe left navigation menu, click on PropertyTax; or, to see everything that’s availablein languages other than English, click on“Other Languages” in the green navigationbar at the top of our home page.

We encourage you to print these out andmake them available to Spanish-speakingproperty owners, and to the social serviceagencies in your area that serve thiscommunity.

We’d also like to hear from you about yourexperiences with the non-English-speakingcommunities. Have you developed any factsheets or other information in Spanish oranother language? Do you have suggestionsor ideas for other candidates fortranslation? Please let us know.


IAAO UpdateWritten by Mark Krupski, SAMA, CAEOlmstead CountyIAAO Representative

It was with great interest that I read therecent “Customer Service and Technology”feature article in the June issue of IAAO’sFair and Equitable magazine. Written byPaul Welcome, CAE, of Johnson County,Kansas; the article shows a directcorrelation between appraiser phone trafficand the availability of property informationon their public website. The website hasbecome a new “mode” of customer serviceand phone traffic continues to decrease aspublic acceptance and use of the websitegrows.

Monthly Fair & Equitable magazinearticles are just one of the benefits of IAAOmembership. Educational offerings andconferences offer quality education andopportunities to network and to improveourselves professionally.

This year’s IAAO Annual Conference willbe held in Anchorage, Alaska and promisesto be a rich and exciting opportunity. Thetheme is, “Conquering New Frontiers”. TheAlaskan wilderness provides an apt settingfor conquering both professional frontiersand experiencing an Alaskan adventure.

Thank you for the continued opportunityto serve as one of the MAAO’s IAAORepresentatives. I look forward to visitingwith you in Minnetonka at the MAAOAnnual Conference this October andanswering any questions you may haveabout IAAO membership.

IAAO moved its headquarters during the week of June 13-17, 2005. Their newcontact information is:

International Association of Assessing Officers314 West 10th StreetKansas City, MO 64105-1616Phone: 816.701.8100Fax: 816.701.8149

IAAO also has a new lockbox that will be used to process payments for eventslike the upcoming IAAO Annual Conference:

IAAO Bank Lockbox504183St. Louis, MO 63150-4183

A note from IAAO:Check out www.iaao.org and the most recent issue of Fair &Equitable magazine for updates and current information onIAAO activities. The complete Staff Directory is availableon the Web site and it also appears in the July issue of Fairand Equitable.

Minnesota IAAO State RepresentativesMark Krupski, CAEOlmsted County151 4th St SERochester, MN 55904507.281.6293

Jan Olsson, RESCity of Plymouth3400 Plymouth BlvdPlymouth, MN 55447763.509.5355

Bill Peterson, CAEDakota County1590 W Hwy 55Hastings, MN 55033651.438.4208


In My Opinion...Written by Stephen L Hacken, SAMA

Winona County Assessor

Steps in the Right Direction

County assessors made their annualpilgrimage to St. Paul in June for the annualget together called State Board ofEqualization. As a county assessor who hasattended at least 20 of these meetings, itsurely was refreshing to see a change fromthe direction of past meetings.

I have been attending these meeting since1985, and the process has always beensimilar. We would go in either alphabeticor reverse alphabetical order, with someonefrom the Department of Revenue readingratios from each of the counties. Theywould then read the recommendations fromthe regional representative on whichdistricts were scheduled for state orderedchanges.

This year little time was spent on that task.Instead, Gordon Folkman and his staffparticipated in discussions regarding anumber of topics. It seems that ethics andconsistency among counties are a big issuefor the Department of Revenue today.

This year at the Region 1 meeting muchtime was spent on the topic of sample sizefor commercial/industrial sales. Any countythat has been in tax court knows theimportance of this ratio. If a county has alow C & I ratio, it does not matter how goodthe value on the affected property is—areduction is likely due to unequalassessment.

I have said for many years that as an out-state assessor, I am better being lucky thangood when seeing my commercial sales

What is your opinion? Submit your article by September 1, 2005

ratio. The challenges are many. Smallsample sizes, shaky personal propertyallocations, unsubstantiated business valuesand unreliable sample mix are all problemsthat exist with this study.

One thing that has really bugged me for along time is that generally the majority ofthe sales in the study are low valuedproperties. For the most current timeperiod, the City of Winona had seven salesin the C & I ratio sample. The total of thesales prices of the sample was $1,841,000.The median sale price was $124,000. Threeof the sales were split class propertieswhere the commercial value was higherthan the other use.

The City of Winona has a total commercial/industrial value of over $300 million andover 1000 parcels. There are currently twoproperties in tax court with a total value ofover $15 million. There are 63 propertiesover $1 million in value and 9 over $5million in value.

It is obvious that the sales sample is notrepresentative of the overall market yet $10million dollar properties may be giveequalization based on an average $124,000sale.

So what can we do to change this? I have acouple of ideas. First, we need to increasesample size. Six sales do not constitute avalid sample. There are statisticalmeasurements available to assist with this.Perhaps a longer time frame is needed.

I have thought about just suggesting thatthere needs to be 20 sales in the sampleand that the value distribution needs to berepresentative of the entire pool. Theproblem with this is that there will be somecounties or cities that will never changetheir values if the valid sample number isthat high.

The adjustment for local effort also needsreview. If I have small properties sellingand I adjust the values accordingly, thereis not enough local effort unless I increasethe large properties as well. The issue hereis that maybe the large properties are OKand increasing them will only promote moreinequities.

It is my belief that the MAAO, tax courtand Department of Revenue all need towork together to come up with a better wayof dealing with commercial/industrialratios. In this age of ethics and properprocedures, all of us should want to dothings in the best way possible.

The statements made or opinions expressedby authors in Equal Eyes do not necessarily

represent a policy position of theMinnesoate Association of Assessing

Officers.


Out of the PastWritten by Nancy Wojcik, SAMACity of Brooklyn Center AssessorEditorial Board Member

5 Years Ago2001 Property Tax Reform begins the shiftof tax burden!!!

Margaret Duncan, Duluth City Assessor,was President of MAAO.

Shayne Bender, a student at St. Cloud Stateand seasonal employee with the SibleyCounty Assessor’s office was awarded theDan Franklin Memorial Scholarship.

The following were awarded their CMAdesignations; Kelly Baillet, HennepinCounty; Timothy Cummings, self-employed; Jason Dagostino, AnokaCounty; Shelly Dillon, Becker County;Wendy Jax, Mower County; and HeatherSolheim, City of Maple Grove. AccreditedMinnesota Assessor designations wereawarded to Mary Smith, City of Fridley,and Bruce Sandberg, City of Hibbing.Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessordesignations were awarded to Keith Kern,Carver County; Mark Peterson, CassCounty; and Eric Lindberg, DakotaCounty.

10 Years AgoPeter Koole was the MAAO President.Matt Smith was appointed asCommissioner of Revenue by GovernorCarlson.

CMA designations were awarded to MarcyBarritt, Murray County; Daniel Raboin,Washington County; Dana Strumstad,Strumstad & Associates; MargieKremlich, Dakota County; Judy Shire,Crow Wing County; Robert Johnson,Department of Revenue; and GregoryOlson, Sherburne County. The AccreditedMinnesota Assessor designation wasawarded to Mark Peterson, Cass County.

The designation of Senior AccreditedMinnesota Assessor was awarded to Greg

Johnson, Hennepin County; Lee Brekke,Morrison County; Patricia Dechaine,Crow Wing County; Marjorie Kraemer,Stearns County; James Vosika, ItascaCounty; Ann Wyse, Carver County; JohnSams, City of Eden Prairie; PatriciaWalters, Winona County; Jo Ann Kerian,Polk Coyunty; Barb Trochlil, RenvilleCounty; and Bob Dynan, City ofMinneapolis. Also Jana Roney, MalcolmDavis, Steve Nelson, William Peterson,and Darwin Renner all from DakotaCounty,

15 Years AgoVern Johnson was President of MAAO.John James was Commissioner ofRevenue.

The median sale prices of homes asreported by “Minnesota Housing Trends”were Minneapolis – St. Paul $86,818,Duluth $44,130, Rochester $69,615,Moorhead $60,333, St. Cloud $57,273,Mankato $60,715, and remaining portionof the state $44,773.

Ollie Lesnick, Stearns County, wasawarded the Accredited MinnesotaAssessor designation.

20 Years AgoRichard Wiitanen, Carlton CountyAssessor was president of MAAO. MAAOcreated the Commercial IndustrialCommittee. Doug Gruber was appointedas Wright County Assessor. ArthurRoemer was Commissioner of Revenue.The MAAO summer seminars brought 200participants to the two day event.NCRAAO held it’s 10th annual conference.

David Bernier, Hennepin County, wasawarded the Senior Accredited MinnesotaAssessor designation.

25 Years AgoThe 1980 Legislative session made historyby changing class rates and the addition oflisting the value of the homestead dwelling,garage and one acre on class 3-B propertyand the homestead base value index wasrepealed.

30 Years AgoChapter President of MN IAAO wasGordon Moe. June 10, 1975; 125assessor’s and deputies attended the firstever semi-annual meeting of the MNChapter of IAAO. A “tax freeze” was ineffect for MN property taxpayers whoqualified. To be eligible for the 1975 taxfreeze you had to be born before May 31,1910.

Herbert Nyberg, Real Estate Assessments,Minneapolis, was the first assessor of MNIAAO to be named an MAI. KennethJohnson, St. Cloud City Assessor wasdesignated an MAI. John Krueger, andWilliam Slavin, both of the MNDepartment of Revenue were namedCAE’s.

Don Holm was appointed ClearwaterDeputy Assessor.

35 Years AgoRobert Burns, City of Golden Valley, wasPresident of MAA, and Chet Johnson wasPresident of MAAO.

A reminder was sent out to MinnesotaAssessor’s to wear the “Blazer Jacket” atthe Las Vegas convention. The cost of theblazer and emblem was $35 and they wereso popular that Iowa designed one also.

Assessor’s strived to attain a targeted levelof assessment of 33 1/3 percent.


TransitionsOn Friday April 8, 2005 a large group offriends, family and work associatesgathered at O’Hara’s Brew Pub toc o n g r a t u l a t eRosie Court forher assessmentcareer of over30 years withthe City of StCloud. RosieCourt, SAMA,RES has madem a n ycontributions toMAAO over thepast years.Some of thosecontributions include instructing severalresidential seminars, writing many articlesfor Equal Eyes and being active on manycommittees. Not only was Rosie active inMAAO but she also contributed to many

Rosie is on to her next adventure...

Sue Mauderer retired from her position asthe Maple Grove City Assessor on April29, 2005. She was presented with a plaqueof Service Recognition from the Mayor,Council and staff of the City of MapleGrove. A tree will be planted in her honor

at the Maple Grove Arboretum from theDepartment Directors. Sue was alsopresented with two other ServiceRecognition plaques from MAAOPresident Dave Armstrong and theHennepin County Assessor Tom May.During her open house her staff did a “Hat’sOff To You” skit, followed by a group hug.

For now (until Course K which she is goingto instruct), Sue just wants to sleep-in anddrink coffee while reading the St. CloudTimes, from front to back….while listeningto the birds sing….out by her lagoon….

Sue worked for the cities of Plymouth,Wayzata, Orono and Maple Grove. Shewas a member of both MAAO and IAAO.Sue served as MAAO Region 9 Presidentand was a Regional Representative forIAAO for 8 years. She obtained the highestdesignation from both MAAO (SAMA)and IAAO (CAE). She was active as an

“Hats Off to You Sue!”instructor for MAAO courses and wroteseveral articles for Equal Eyes. Sue was amember of the MN Board of Assessors for

4 years. Congratulations Sue and thanksfor all your dedication…enjoy your leisuretime.

community organizations. St. Cloud CityMayor John Ellenbecker recognizedRosie’s accomplishments by proclaimingApril 8, 2005 as Rosie Court Day in St.Cloud.

Rosie is now on to her next adventure withmore time to enjoy her many hobbies andactivities. Good Luck Rosie and enjoy yourwell-deserved retirement years.

MAAP UpdateWritten by Deanne HollermanStearns County Assessing Technician2004 - 2005 MAAP President

MINNESOTA ASSOCIATION OF ASSESSMENT PERSONNEL2005 SUMMER WORKSHOP

AUGUST 18 & 19, 2005GRAND CASINO MILLE LACS CONFERENCE CENTER

ONAMIA, MINNESOTA

AGENDA

THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 2005

8:30 Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 Welcome!! Introduction and Overview

Introductory Remarks

2005 Legislative Changes/Homestead Issues/Questions & AnswersJohn Hagen, Department of Revenue

12:00 LUNCH

1:00 2005 Legislative Changes/Homestead Issues/Questions & Answers continued

3:00 MAAP Business Meeting

FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2005

7:30 MAAP Officers Meeting (Incoming and Outgoing)

8:30 Continental Breakfast

9:00 Methamphetamine Labs – Deborah Durkin, Department of Health

1:00 End of Workshop

The time for MAAP’s Summer Workshop is drawing near. This year we will be meeting at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs ConferenceCenter in Onamia. We are pleased to offer those of you in the assessment field an opportunity to receive continuing education at anaffordable price.

You do not need to be a MAAP member to attend the workshop. Certified Minnesota Assessors are eligible to receive 1 BEU forattending both days of the workshop.

Since MAAP is celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the “theme” of our workshop will take us “Back to the 70’s.” Workshop attendees areasked to dress in their favorite ‘70’s style if they’d like. We hope to see you there!

For more information about our workshop or about becoming a member of MAAP, contact one of the following:

Deanne Hollermann, PresidentStearns County, [email protected]

Jackie Meyer, Vice PresidentSherburne County, [email protected]

Mary Peterson, Secretary/TreasurerCity of Maple Grove [email protected]

Cathy Emerson, Board MemberCity of Maple Grove, [email protected]

Joan Seelen, Past PresidentDepartment of Revenue, Property Tax [email protected]

MORE INFORMATION


I am just a lonely commuter stuck in traffic,required by my vocation to have a vehicleavailable to perform my professionalduties. I can only look out my window anddream about such things as “mass transit”as the buses and trains go rushing by.Sitting in my car, I often fantasize aboutthe joys of riding on the bus, sipping my

coffee, reading the newspaper and planningthe day ahead of me. It all seems so sane, sorelaxed, so stress free. Instead, I sit intraffic with my fellow single occupantvehicles picking our noses, buildingresentments and making obscenegestures at one another. So, when thetopic of light rail was bantered about,I paid no attention since it didn’tappear that the subject would everplay any part in my life. Sadly, that wasthe attitude that I harbored until recently,when Region IX held it’s June meeting atthe light rail maintenance and storagefacility at the Franklin Avenue station. The

experience and my subsequent research onthe subject, changed my parochial outlookon light-rail and public transportation andI hope to shed new light onto the subjectfor you and help shape your opinion onlight-rail too.

So what is up with Light Rail Transit(LRT)? You’re probably expecting me totell you that it’s not a low fat transit option,but I won’t stoop to the obvious. I want totell you that over the last 50 years,Minneapolis and St. Paul have becomeextremely automobile oriented. The mostcommon mode of personal travel is by autoand the majority of transportation resources(money and land) are devoted to their use.Many communities have been designed todepend on the automobile as the primarysource of transportation; this includes theTwin Cities Metro area. The growth invehicle traffic creates various problems,including congestion, high road constructioncosts, parking costs, costs to own andoperate a vehicle, traffic accidents,environmental impacts and difficulties fornon-drivers to get around. Publictransportation is a real viable option for areacommuters and the public benefits to ridership

have both tangible and intangible costs andbenefits.

Regional transit architects will tell you thatlight rail in itself is not the complete answer

to the mobility and congestion issues. Itmust be thought of as an important part ofa balanced transit system. Light rail willwork best when combined with othertransportation strategies, which includesroadways, park and ride stations, bicyclefacilities, potential commuter rail, improvedbus service and dedicated transit-ways likethe HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles)/”sanelanes”. To work at their optimum, each ofthe systems must interact and interconnectwith each other, as one mass transitpackage.

In Minnesota, mass transit is operated byMetro Transit (www.metrotransit.org)which is a part of the Metropolitan Council.The “Met Council” is the regional planningorganization for the seven-county metroarea. The Council advocates for vitalcommunities, cost-effective services, anda competitive region. It runs the regionalbus system, collects and treats wastewaterand manages water resources preservation,plans regional parks and administers fundsthat provide housing opportunities for lowand moderate-income individuals andfamilies. The 17 member MetropolitanCouncil is appointed by and serves at thepleasure of the Minnesota Governor. The

Met Council, with the help of countiesand cities, has developed a regionaltransit plan that includes the topic formy article, “light rail”.

In order to explain light-rail transit, Iwill first have to explain the three types ofrail-based transit, which are commuter/heavy-rail, high-speed-rail and light-rail.

Light Rail Transit (LRT) What’s Up With That?

Written by William Effertz, SAMAHennepin County

Assistant County Assessor


Basically, commuter-rail is a passengerservice that operates on existing freightrailroad tracks. This serviceoperates at “peak” travel timesand has an average trip of 22miles with stations 5 milesapart. Costs are estimated to be$3-$10 million per mile. Thereis a proposed commuter railline that will run fromdowntown Minneapolis to BigLake, known as the “NorthStar Commuter Rail” line.Examples of heavy-rail transitare subways, although NewYork City and Chicago operatesome systems above theground. Heavy-rail systemstypically consist of large four-axle rail vehicles operating intrains of two to ten cars. Theserail systems may or may notoperate on dedicated tracks.

High-speed rail refers to aseries of technologiesinvolving trains traveling attop speed of 90 to 300 milesper hour. High-speed rail iscompetitive with air and autotravel markets with a range of100 to 500 miles. California,Florida and Japan are leadingthe way with this high-speedmode of rail transit. High-speed rail costs range from $3-$80 million per miledepending on technology.These rail systems operate ondedicated tracks, whichfacilitates the high-speedtravel. The BART (Bay AreaRapid Transit) in the SanFrancisco Bay area is anexample of a high-speedsystem and is highlyautomated.

So what’s up with light-rail? Light-rail isgenerally defined as electric rail cars thatoperate with short trains. It is a form ofpublic transportation that operates along a

set pathway on steel rails. The main goalof light rail is to move people more quickly

to and from the suburbs, the airport andeven through the downtown area. In short,people get to their destination faster and inless traffic.

Recent reports show that the impact of lightrail is anything but light. The Metropolitan

Council reports that ridership onthe majority of LRT systemsaround the country has risen isrecent years. To date, 17 citiesin 13 states rely on light rail aspart of their transit systems. Itis powered by electricity fromoverhead wires, which makes itmuch safer than other (heavy)rail systems that receive theirpower at track level.Electrically powered vehiclesare virtually pollution free.Light rail is also extremelyquiet. Stations are located 0.5–1.5 miles apart and operateabout 20 hours a day. Costs forlight rail have proven to bewithin $12- $100 million permile.

The light-rail line operates atstreet level in its own laneseparate from automobile trafficand carries a level of priority attraffic signals. It generallytravels at a speed of 40 mph,slower on downtown streets butcan reach speeds of 55 mph incertain corridors.

Rail, as mass transit, has beenan issue in Minnesota for wellover 25 years. In the 1970s,heavy rail and “downtownpeople movers” were studied astransit options for the TwinCities. By the early 1980s, lightrail transit was beginning to beseen as a possible alternative toother methods of mass transit.On January 17, 2001, groundwas broken for light rail transitalong the Hiawatha Avenuecorridor, eventually connectingdowntown Minneapolis, the

continued page 16


Light Rail...from page 15

Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airportand the Mall of America in Bloomington.

Hiawatha Light Rail Line

The light rail system in Minneapoliscurrently operates on one rail line knownas the “Hiawatha Line” or “Route 54”. Theline opened in June 2004 and full serviceto the airport and the Mall of Americabegan in December 2004.

The line is 12 miles long and serves patronsfrom downtown Minneapolis, theUniversity of Minnesota, 11 Minneapolisneighborhoods, Minneapolis/St. PaulInternational Airport and the Mall ofAmerica in Bloomington. There are 17stations along the route. Each of the stationsis designed to blend in to the surroundingneighborhood. The travel time betweenstation stops is 2 to 3 minutes.

Along the route there are three majorparking facilities, the Mall of America andtwo park-and-ride lots. Fort Snelling has950 spaces and 28th Avenue has 500 spaces.Mining was completed on the airport tunnelin October of 2002. The bus serviceschedules were redesigned to coordinatewith the rail schedule. 46 bus routes connectto 14 of the rail stations with timedtransfers. Approximately 20 percent of thecustomers will arrive at the station by bus.

Unlike older rail systems, light rail track iscontinuously welded resulting in asmoother quieter ride. The rails areembedded in the ground, level with thestreet and there is a 16-foot electricoverhead cable that powers the cars.

Each of the LRT vehicles are 94 feet long,and have the capacity to comfortablytransport 150 people. The train will consistof two cars coupled together. Each car hasthe capacity to seat 66 passengers and haveenough standing room for 180. This helpswhen the Metro dome or Target Center letsout. Each vehicle is fully ADA compliantwith four wheel chair locations. In addition,

each car has four luggage racks and fourbicycle hangers.

The fares are similar to bus fares, $1.75during rush hours and $1.25 at all othertimes. The tickets allow you unfetteredaccess to ride for 2 ½ hours. If you arecoming to the Metro dome or Target Centerfor an event you can purchase a 6-hour passfor $3. This allows you to avoid the linesto purchase your ticket after the event.

There are no fare boxes on trains. You mustpay for your ride before boarding the train.Fare inspectors will randomly ask to seeproof of fare payment on trains and stations.Make sure that your proof of payment isready. There is a $180 fine for riding thetrain and buses without paying. The line ispoliced while it is operating – 20 hours aday. There are closed circuit cameras withspeakers on station platforms. Securitypersonnel monitor camera footage from thecontrol center and have the ability toaddress individuals on the stationplatforms.

Buses, in many cases, will run morefrequently and be timed to meet trains.Metro Transit has a network of routes about

½ to 1 mile apart. Existing bus routes havealso been modified to connect passengersto the light rail stations.

The twelve miles of rail cost a total of$715.3 million. The math would suggestthat the cost per mile be in theneighborhood of $59.6 million. I’mguessing that is what makes the whole issuerather controversial. But hey, the federalgovernment picked up just under half of thecost at $334.3 million followed by the Stateof Minnesota at $120.1 million;Metropolitan Airports Commissioncontributed $87 million and good oldHennepin County with $84.2 million. Thiscost includes the acquisition of 24 rail carsand 26.5 acres for a maintenance facilitybetween Franklin Avenue and CedarAvenue. Now that is quite a bargain.Advocates argue that there are significanteconomic benefits to be realized in thecorridor’s commercial development.

In an essay entitled. “Hiawatha Light RailTransit and Land Use” by Cole Hiniker,Victor Helin and Vivek Deshpande, it isreported that the major selling point for theHiawatha LRT was for its developmentpotential. The corridor was chosen because


continued on page 18

it was seen as the one proposal thatconnected major employment centers andprovided open space around stations thatcould drive new transit-orienteddevelopment. The Hiawatha line wouldhave additional added value to conventionsheld downtown Minneapolis as well asincrease shopping/sales at the Mall ofAmerica (MOA). They stated that marketstudies suggest a potential investment, inBloomington alone, that could yield a totalnew construction value of more than $1.785billion. The article does not state that theadded value can be solely attributed to thelight-rail development, but rather that light-rail will facilitate the development.

With the implementation of the HiawathaLRT Line, areas along the corridor and nearthe transit stations have already began tosee revitalization. There have been newhousing and commercial developmentsalong with the reuse and rehabilitation ofexisting structures.

A few examples include:

· The Bloomington Central StationArea - A mixed use redevelopmentof the 43 acres surrounding thestation that would includehousing, a hotel, a water park andcommercial development.

· 46th Street Station Area - Therehabilitation of a former gas

station and bait shop for reuse asa cafe/coffee shop.

· 38th Street Station Area - A 45 unitsenior condominium complex.

In Bloomington, the Hiawatha light-rail linewill pull together an expanding MOA, andexpanding airport and the approachingMcGough development, one of the region’sbiggest developments in recent years. TheLRT line connects Bloomington toMinneapolis and city planners predict theline will help the region grow and be morecompetitive nationally. The $700 millionMcGough development is a compact mixof housing, office, retail and entertainment.The light rail line helped to reshape thedevelopment away from the areas typicalwith tall office buildings and big-boxcommercial to a more compact design withsmaller amounts of surface parking andrelying much more on the train, walking andbiking for mobility.

The Metropolitan Council reports that thusfar, rider ship has been robust. Fare-payingcustomers took 600,300 light-rail rides inDecember 2004 with strong demand in


service for the airport, Bloomington andMall of America, which opened December4, 2004. This figure equates to 19,200 ridesper weekday when the goal for the line was19,300 rides per weekday by the middle of2005. Since the Hiawatha line opened onJune 26, 2004 customers have taken 209

million light-rail rides which was 106percent higher that expectations.

Overall, it appears that light-rail has beena boon to the entire transit package. In 2004the Metro Transit ridership was 4.4 percentahead of rides logged in 2003. Customersrode Metro Transit buses and trains 5.5million times in December 2004. That is228,300 more trips than the same period ayear earlier. Metro Transit is the nation’s11th largest transit system. No matter howyou slice it that’s a lot of cars off the road.

The types of businesses that are being (orwill be) attracted to the LRT stationsinclude: convenience goods and services,food and beverage, retail, pharmacies, drycleaners and coffee shops. Offices andoffice-related uses, as well as supportbusinesses are also expected to be attractedto the stations. Another goal is also toattract investment in compact housing,including affordably priced units.

Will property values rise as a result of theLRT? At this point we can only speculatethat being located adjacent to a LRT stationcan be very appealing to potential

homeowners and renters as well as certaintypes of commercial development. Anopposing argument may be made thatneighboring properties may be negativelyimpacted with noise, vibrations, dust,reduced access and loss of parking. Asexperienced assessors we realize thatproperty values change over time, and asthe system is completed, the sales willreveal our answers but it will be difficult todirectly attribute any market appreciationto just one component.

Due to the early overwhelming positiveresponse to the Hiawatha line, a majorinvestment study is underway regarding aRiverview Transit way. This proposed lightrail transit line would traverse a 9.5-milelong segment which extends from theLower East Side of St. Paul throughdowntown St. Paul, and southwest to theMinneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Furthermore, with this springs passage ofa bonding bill by the Minnesota Legislaturecontaining funds for the NorthstarCommuter line, the project finally seemson a fast track to reality. Although Federalfunding has yet to be secured, developersand city officials can more safely assumethe rail line will be built and are now turningtheir attention to this phenomena of transit-oriented development along its route fromDowntown Minneapolis to Big Lake.Starting with the new Twins baseballstadium and proposed development knownas “Twins Town”; this commuter-rail lineruns right past the proposed ballpark. Earlysuccess of the Hiawatha line helped to easeconcerns that there would be a market forthe line and development projects along thepath.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that light-rail transit is a common sense tool formanaging the transportation challengesfacing the region and is an important partof finding a healthy balance in the metrotransit system. There is evidence to suggestthat the Hiawatha LRT could have asubstantial favorable economic impact for


the core cities. A good transit package willrelieve congestion, provide mobility tojobs, reduce air pollution, cut fuelconsumption and save on roadwayconstruction costs and delays.

The Met Council estimates that congestionin the Twin Cities region costs an estimated$1 billion now and that is estimated todouble by 2020. It would cost an estimated$1 billion to build highway improvementsto relieve unacceptable congestion in thesix major roadways. If we can eliminate245,000 daily auto trips per year thoughan expanded mass transit package in theTwin Cities Metro area the benefits wouldinclude:

· 550 million miles in travel per yearwould be cut.

· 27 million gallons of fuel would besaved annually.

· 6,600 tons of carbon monoxide wouldbe eliminated per year.

· 110,500 acres (173 square miles) ofrural land would be saved throughmore compact development patternsalong transit corridors.

Overall, it appears that no single method,by itself, is adequate to relieve the highwaycongestion that I face each morning as Idrive to work by myself. But together, as acomprehensive transit package, thatincludes light-rail lines, bus routes,roadways/HOV, potential commuter raillines, park and ride stations, and bike trailsand pathways it is a preferred alternativeto spending our tax dollars that onlyconsider automobiles and roads. We can



live in a region less dependant onautomobiles if we can strengthenneighborhoods and build new communitieswith transit at their center. We just have tochange the way we do some things.My experience with light-rail has changedmy narrow viewpoint of light-rail and pubictransportation. The more I investigatedlight-rail the more I became a proponentof a comprehensive mass transit packagethat benefits everyone in Minnesota. I wasstuck in my parochial thinking that if itdoesn’t effect me I don’t care. But the moreI know the more I care. I was like theproverbial blind man that was examiningthe body of the elephant. The whole issuewas much bigger than I was able to see. So this fall when you come to town for the

MAAO Fall Conference or the next timeyou’re in the metro area, please give thelight rail, or even a bus for that matter, aride. Not only will you be saving yourselftime and trouble; you will also be savingcurrent and future taxpayers of Minnesotavaluable resources. As if that wasn’t enoughreason, you will be able to chuckle knowingthat I am stuck in traffic thinking aboutbeing on the train along with you.

Select photos courtesy of Metro Transit


Dear John,Written by John Hagen, SAMADepartment of Revenue

Dear John,

My three brothers and I formed a familyfarm corporation – Four Farming Dudes,Inc. The corporation owns 4, 640-acreparcels of agricultural property and we allfarm the land on behalf of the corporation.I, Jim, live in a smokin’ bachelor pad (thinkbearskin rugs and black lights!) on one ofthe parcels. My brothers, Johnny, Jack andJose live in a small town, Margaritaville,which is located within four townships ofthe agricultural property. They each havea residential homestead. I qualify for anagricultural homestead on the parcel thatI occupy. Can we homestead the threeunoccupied parcels too?

Party on –

Jim B.

Dear Jim –

Let me guess – you and your brothersraise hops too??!! Anywhooooo – yes,your brothers can each qualify for aspecial ag homestead on each of theremaining three parcels. The best wayto maximize the homestead benefits forthe corporation would be to have Johnnyfile a special ag homestead applicationon one, 640 acre parcel; have Jack fileon another parcel; and Jose file on thefourth parcel.

I bet you guys are just chick magnets!!Careful not to spill on the bearskin rugs– I hear they smell like wet dog when theyget damp! Four Farming Dorks soundsmore like it!

“DearJohn,” is intended to be asatrical look at the multitude ofquestions answered by the Depart-ment of Revenue’s Informationand Education Posse. The under-lying situations are true but thenames and identifying details area bit embellished.

Dear John –

I just married the love of my life! I havespent my life looking for Prince Charming!And, believe me, I had to kiss a lot of frogsbefore I found this perfect manlyspecimen!! He operates a farm in anothercounty and I run a daycare center. Thetwo properties are approximately 10 milesapart. We hope to have children soon andwe tried to do the right thing by gettingmarried first. HOWEVER…….that wickedwitch assessor told me that we do notqualify for 2 homesteads. How can thatbe? Aren’t there any exceptions for peoplelike me? She said there were 4 provisionswhere we could qualify for 2 fullhomesteads (pending divorce, legalseparation, employment and “other”). Weshould qualify under the “other personalcircumstances.” But, I guess if I have todivorce him to get my homestead back, Iwill!!

Your pal –

Snow White

Dear Snow White –

Ain’t love grand! If you are willing tokick your Prince to the curb for amaximum benefit of $304, you have moreserious issues than homestead baby!Those 4 provisions you mentioned AREthe exceptions to the 1 homestead permarried couple rule. Again, theexceptions are: pending divorce (not justtalking about it either – it means that oneof you has filed papers and the attorneysare ready to suck the life out of you!);legal separation (very expensive – again,the only one making any money on thatdeal is the attorney); employment (50

miles must separate the places ofemployment and the homesteads); and“other circumstances” causing thespouses to live separately (this istypically in cases of domestic or childabuse). As you will note, you living 10miles away from Prince Charming andhis castle DO NOT qualify under any ofthese circumstances.

Therefore, count your blessings and behappy you have found your soul mate!

PS – Save your future children from anypotential bullying on the playground anddon’t name them after the dwarfs! Also– avoid apples and talking mirrors!

Dear John –

My family and I own a little slice of heavenup here on the North Shore. We haveformed a limited partnership betweenmyself, my wife and our children (theCubbies). Our attorney recommended thisfor income tax purposes. My wife and Ioccupy the home and that nitwit assessorwill not grant us homestead! The Secretaryof State’s office told us that they don’tconsider us a business, but the assessor willnot budge. Currently, our property is zonedRural Commercial and we harvest our 40acres of trees for logs. How about if weget it rezoned for agricultural use, can webecome a farm then?? Then our farmproperty would qualify for homesteadright??

Your pal,

Smoky T. Bear


Dear John...from page 20Dear Smoke –

I don’t care if you are harvesting thewood and milling it into LouisvilleSluggers, you do not qualify for the agclass! If you are “harvesting” trees forlogs, you could possibly qualify for aresidential/timber split-class. And, theassessor you so lovingly referred to as a“nitwit” is nothing if not a CORRECTnitwit!! Residential properties, held byan ENTITY are NOT eligible for

homestead even if you are the solemember of that entity and the Secretaryof State welcomes you to theneighborhood personally! Only resorts,farms, or hotels/motels held by an entityqualify for homestead. As for zoning, wedon’t give much of a zippity-do-dahabout it – it is how your property isUSED that determines the classification.

And next time you change things on yourproperty for income tax purposes, Isuggest you consider the ramificationsfor property tax ahead of time. What’sgood for income tax purposes does notalways translate into good news in theproperty tax area!

“Over the years, we have heard many complaints about propertytaxes...But why is this so? I am inclined to believe that the principalreasons for this are: (1) that the property tax is considered to beamong the most regressive of taxes, particularly as it applies to thelow income taxpayer; (2) that as property values increase, the taxincreases, which means, in effect, that it is a tax on unrealized capitalgains - something which does not happen under our income and salestax laws; and (3) that the administration of property tax laws, basedas it is principally on informed estimates of market values, presents adifficult and arbitrary aspect to property tax administration which isabsent in the administration of income and sales tax.”

Representative Wilbur D. MillsChairmanHouse Ways and Means Committee

Property Tax ReformThe Role of the Property Tax in the Nation’s Revenue System

Proceedings of a seminar in Washington D.C. July, 1973; jointly sponsored byIAAO and the Fund for Public Policy Research


Written by Jacque BetzMinnesota Department of Revenue

Vi e w s Yo u C a n U s eThe Importance of Public Relations

During the Commissioner’s Session at theMAAO Summer Seminars, we heard thatperception is every bit as important asreality. In fact, to that person, theirperception is their reality.

While most assessors do an excellent jobof working with the public, all it takes is afew assessors that do not practice goodpublic relations for a person to get thewrong perception about all assessors.

Although there never seems to be enoughtime to administer the complicated propertytax system, taking time to sharpen yourpublic relations skills can be a time-saverin the long run. Think of it as an investmentthat is guaranteed to pay off. Thoseassessors who have a service-orientedattitude and focus on public relationsgenerally are not facing the volume ofproblems that those assessors who arelacking in public relations skills are facing.It is clear that the problem cannot beavoided as it only seems to worsen as timegoes by.

Most of you are probably aware thatassessment practices have been a hot topicat legislature this session. Legislation(House File 785, Article 2, Section 49) ispending which would require thecommissioner of revenue to consult withstakeholder groups to recommend andpropose requirements for achievingstandardized assessment and classificationof property. Additionally, proposedlegislation (House File 785, Article 2,Section 12) would require all MinnesotaAssessors to attend a seminar, developedand presented by the commissioner ofrevenue, which focuses on ethics,professional conduct and the need forstandardized assessment practices. Further

proposed legislation (House File 785,Article 2, Section 50) would require thecommissioner of revenue to develop a codeof conduct and ethics for Minnesotaassessors to “ensure public confidence inproperty assessment.”

You may wonder what is the cause for thelegislative focus on assessment practices.Access to information may be the simpleanswer. With more and more informationat their fingertips, property owners cancheck not only their own value but they cancompare their value to their neighbors’values. Allowing property owners to accessthis information is a positive thing as itmakes the process more open. However, asmore and more counties put thisinformation online and people can easilyaccess this information from the comfortof home, inevitably, it will create morequestions. Assessors will have to make itmore of a priority to dedicate time toanswering questions posed by the public.If a property owner contacts his/herassessor and the assessor either does nottake the time to answer the propertyowner’s questions and help him/herunderstand the process or simply gives adismissive, arrogant or condescendinganswer, the property owner likely willcontact his/her legislators to complain.

Addressing the issue

Not all assessors are practicing poor publicrelations. However, given recent problemsthat have been brought to our attention aswell as the legislative focus on assessmentpractices, we feel there is a need to addressthis issue.

We have plans to incorporate informationon public relations in the courses that weteach. We will be adding information onthis topic to the PACE course, Course A,and the Ethics course.

If you have tips or information on dealingwith the public that you would like to sharebest practices with other assessors, pleasesend it to [email protected].

Perhaps the best advice when dealing withtaxpayers is something that we all learnedat a very young age and it still holds truetoday in almost any situation – the goldenrule. You will encounter fewer problemsand find it easier to deal with people if youtreat others as you want to be treated.

Future columns

What would you like to see in futurecolumns? If you have ideas or suggestionsfor topics, please contact the Property TaxDivision’s Information and EducationSection by email [email protected].


FeaturedResidential PropertyProvided by Eric Johnson, AMACity of Minnetonka

The Arch-House was originated andpatented by Engineer Keith Lang. Theproperty is located at 5038 Dominick Spurin Minnetonka. This 1,900 square foot, twobedroom, 1.75 bath, slab home was builtas an experimental home in 1965 with itsprimary sponsor being FHA. The entirehome is sponsored material by variouscompanies throughout the United States.The home boasts many windows inside,open spaces and an acoustical ceiling. Theprimary feature that stands this home apartfrom the conventional built house is itscurved stressed roof that is supported byposts and columns. This unusual roof has alight weight structure made up of plywood,urethane foam and reinforced plastic fiber.

The Arch-House was the first home in theUpper Midwest to be insured under theFederal Government’s “Section 233 –Experimental Housing Program”. FHAfirst established the Section 233 programto promote advancements in housingtechnology while improving quality ofneighborhood designs and hopes to cut thecost of housing.

Mr. Lang was not only the Engineer behindthis experimental project but also thehomeowner. The initial idea behind thisexperimental home was to have Mr. Langanalyze the home for a period of five yearsand to collect data on the overallperformance of various parts of the house.In short, the Arch-House was the one andonly home of its kind ever constructed. Permy conversation with Mr. Lang the primaryproblem with the home is the roof design.According to Mr. Lang, the roof expandsand contracts more then wood causing anarray of problems he deals with on a yearlybasis. The main problem is ceiling leaksand window issues due to the amount ofexpansion and contraction. It’s been fortyyears since this experiment home was builtand Mr. Lang still resides there and callsthe Arch-House home.


Recent Developments inHotel ValuationWritten by Jack Pasternacki, SAMA, CAECity of Bloomington AssessorTax Court Committee Chair

One area of appraisal that has drawn a greatdeal of attention in the last several years isthe valuation of hotels. This area ofappraisal practice has always been complexdue to elements of non-real propertypresent in hotel operation, and in recentyears various experts have come forth withdetailed theoretical arguments for newappraisal methodology for this propertytype. This article will cover a brief historyof some of the recent developmentsregarding hotel valuation.

1983-The Rushmore Approach

In 1983, the Appraisal Institute publisheda book entitled Hotel, Motels, andRestaurant: Valuations and Market Studies,by Stephen Rushmore, MAI. Thisapproach claimed to remove the non-realproperty elements from a hotel incomestream by deductions for personal property(the furniture, fixtures, and equipment) and“business value” (via a deduction of themanagement fee and the franchise fee fromthe net operating income). Practitioners inthe property tax arena accepted thisapproach as it attempted to get to a “realestate only” valuation appropriate for advalorem property tax.

2001-The Appraisal Institute’s Appraisalof Real Estate, 12th Edition

In 2001, the Appraisal Institute publishedthe latest edition of its textbook. Itcontained new definitions related to hotelvaluation concepts such as going concernand business enterprise value, andintroduced new verbiage such as totalassets of the business, capitalized economicprofit, and residual intangibles. These ideas

get a very brief mention in the textbook,while pointing out that this area of appraisalis controversial, and noting “ a lack ofuniversal acceptance of the varioustheories, especially in the courts”. Thetextbook mentions the arguments againstthe presence of a residual intangibles orbusiness value, and overall is fairly neutralin it’s coverage of the business value issue.

The AI also published in 2001 a bookentitled “ A Business Enterprise ValueAnthology”, edited by David Lennhoff,MAI, which contained 38 articles writtenon the topic, both for and against theexistence of a business value residual in realproperty. This book contains a section ofarticles specifically pertaining to Hotel andMotels. The book’s foreword, written byAI 2001 President Brain A. Glanville, states“The controversy surrounding the subjectis complicated”. Again, this publication iscarefully neutral on the topic, and did notinclude the new terminology suggested inthe 12th Edition text.

2001- The Appraisal Institute’s Course800 -“Separating Real and PersonalProperty from Intangible Assets”

Also in 2001, the Appraisal Institute rolledout Course 800, which suggested new ideasregarding separating real property fromnon-real property. The course used the newdefinitions and terminology mentioned inthe 12th Edition textbook and gave somespecific examples via case studies. Thecourse authors were David Lennhoff, MAIand James Vernor, PhD., MAI. The coursematerials state that Course 800 “providesthe theoretical and analytical framework forseparating the tangible and intangible assets

of operating properties”. In addition,course material states that upon completionof the course participants will be able to“evaluate positions for and against theexistence of intangible asset values”.Within the course materials there arecomments regarding the controversialnature of the issue in appraisal practice.Inside the front cover of the coursehandbook is the following disclaimer:

“The opinions and statements setforth herein reflect the viewpoint of theappraisal Institute at the time ofpublication but do not necessarily reflectthe viewpoint of each individual member.While a great deal of care has been takento provide accurate and currentinformation, neither the Appraisal Instituteand its editors and staff assumeresponsibility for the accuracy of the datacontained herein. Further, the generalprinciples and conclusions presented inthis text are subject to local, state, andfederal laws and regulations, court cases,and any revisions of the same”.

2003- IAAO Legal Seminar, Chicago IL

In 2003, at the IAAO Legal Seminar,Attorney Alan Marcuvitz referred to severalcourt cases regarding hotel valuation in hisco-presentation “Impact of the 2001-2002Recession on the Valuation of HospitalityReal Property” with Peter Gloodt, MAI.One case that decided against businessvalue presence in hotel valuation wasAmway Grand Plaza Hotel v. City of GrandRapids, 2001 WL 1557496 (Michigan TaxTribunal). This decision is a thoughtful


discussion of business value of epicproportions, at a length of some 200 pages.

Another case mentioned was Essex HouseCondo Corporation a/k/a MarriottCourtyard Airport v. Shelby County(Tennessee State Board of Equalization,Administrative Judge). This case featuredDavid Lennhoff, MAI as the appraiser forthe property owner, and incorporated thenew terminology and definitions firstpublished in the 12th Edition, and promotedby the AI’s Course 800. In siding with theproperty owner’s appraisal, theadministrative judge cited the 12th Edition,as well as Course 800, and noted theassessor had not taken Course 800 nor washe familiar with the recent literatureregarding business value in hotels. Thedecision also stated that “…although Mr.Lennhoff ’s methodology may not beuniversally accepted, it is in accord withthe position of the Appraisal Institute…”and that his appraisal method “is currentlyendorsed by the Appraisal Institute…”which the judge thought was evidenced byboth the 12th Edition and the materialcovered in Course 800. This decision wasan indication that assessors needed torespond to the new ideas suggested in boththe Appraisal Institute textbook and Course800.

2004- The Rushmore Letter

In April of 2004, Stephen Rushmore, MAIwrote a 17 page letter which he posted onthe website of his firm, HVS International,in which he defended his “RushmoreApproach” and criticized the “businessenterprise approach” as leading to a“double-dip” of expenses related to theoperating business. In this letter, Rushmorerefers specifically to an on-going hotel casebefore the New Jersey Tax Court involvingthe Saddle Brook Marriott hotel. Rushmoretestified in this case as to the relativedifferences between the two approaches,apparently at the request of the Court.Rushmore refers to this Saddle Brook casedirectly in his letter and runs an incomeapproach using the actual revenue and

expenses used in the trial. The appraiserfor the property owner in the Saddle Brookcase was David Lennhoff, MAI. Rushmorestates that the “business value approach”could be potentially devastating to a hotelowner seeking to refinance, as the valueattributable to real estate is only 36% ofhotel total value via the example in hisletter. Rushmore’s response was a signalthat “round one” had begun in the currentdebate on hotel valuation methodology.

2004- IAAO Professional DevelopmentSeminar, Boston MA

In a seminar sponsored by the IAAOProfessional Development Committeeentitled “Real Property and IntangibleBusiness Assets”, Course 800 authorsLennhoff and Vernor were invited to face apacked audience and present anencapsulated version of the newterminology and ideas mentioned in the 12th

Edition textbook and Course 800. This 8-hour seminar gave both assessors andowner’s representatives the chance to listento the theories, consider examples, and askquestions of the presenters. Interestingly,two days later at the same conferenceStephen Rushmore presented a 90-minutetalk to a standing room only audience thatreiterated his defense of the “RushmoreApproach” put forward in his website letter.It was obvious from the turnout at bothpresentations that the issue had captured theattention of both assessors and industrytypes alike.

2004- Articles Published on HotelValuation

During this timeframe, several articlesconcerning hotel valuation appeared invarious publications co-published by theInternational Association of AssessingOfficers.

Intangible Assets: What Makes a Businessa Going Concern, by Michael J. Remsha,PE, ASA, CMI, published in the Journal ofProperty Economics, Vol.1, Issue 1, 2004.This article discusses the variouscomponents of a going concern that arenon-realty, including assembled and trained

workforce and management team,operating manuals and procedures,software, operating licenses and permits,contract and agreements, trade names andtrademarks, and other intangible assets.

Why the “Rushmore approach”, is a BetterMethod for Valuing the Real Propertycomponent of a Hotel, by StephenRushmore, MAI, CHA, published in theJournal of Property Tax Assessment andAdministration, Volume1, Number 4, 2004.This is basically the letter that Rushmoreposted on his website.

The Land Residual Theory and the Absenceof a Business Value for Real Estate as anOperating Business, by Norm Miller, PhD.Same publication and issue as above. Thisarticle supports the theory that land is theonly non-mobile factor of production, andas such captures all excess profitability.

“Total Assets of the Business” and LodgingFacilities: What should be the FinalChapter, by Daniel H. Lesser, MAI, CRE,CHA, same publication as above. Thisarticle runs through the historicalperspective of previous writings on theissue of hospitality valuation. In addition,the author makes the claim that no hotelowner would pay for another hotel owners’so-called intangible business assets, as eachowner has their own business expertise.

Intangibles Are the Real Thing, Probate &Property, American Bar Association,September/October 2004 Issue. Thisarticle is by David Lennhoff, MAI, in whichhe restates the rationale and background forthe business value argument, and reviewsboth the terminology and the methodologyfor removing intangibles from real propertyvalue that are forwarded in Course 800.

2004- Letter From John Ross, ExecutiveDirector of the Appraisal Institute

In October of 2004, the Executive vicePresident of the Appraisal Institute statedin a letter to the Executive Director ofIAAO that the Institute was in the processof reviewing and evaluating Course 800 in

Hotel Valuation...from page 24


Hotel Valuation...from page 25light of feedback on the course over the lasttwo years. The letter stated the following:

“In Course 800, the AppraisalInstitute has a position of impartiality anddoes not formally recommend or endorsea single methodology for separating realand personal property from intangiblebusiness assets. There is no specificmethodology appearing in Course 800 thatconstitutes official Appraisal Institutepolicy.”

The letter also asked for nominations ofindividuals from the membership of IAAOto assist in the evaluation of Course 800.This was the first indication that theAppraisal Institute was reconsidering thecontent of Course 800. Exactly what“feedback” led to this reconsideration isunknown. However, the IAAO BostonConference seemed to be involved inbringing this issue to the front burner.

2005-Letter to the Editor in Probate &Property, January/February Issue

In a letter to the editor in the 2005 January/February Issue of Probate & Property,Institute Executive Vice President JohnRoss responded to the Lennhoff article thatappeared in the 2004 September/OctoberIssue, as follows:

“The conclusions and opinioncontained in course 800 are not intendedto represent the policy of the AppraisalInstitute; rather, they are the opinions andviews of the authors of the course. Yourreaders should be aware that the author ofthe article, Mr. Lennhoff, is also one of the

two authors of Course 800 and has beenteaching the course. Some of the conceptsand conclusions addressed in the courseare quite controversial, a fact that thecourse acknowledges in numerous places.Course 800, as is common with otherAppraisal Institute courses dealing withadvanced and/or unsettled issues, will nowbe reviewed and evaluated and will not beoffered this year until the review andevaluation have been completed andrevisions to the Course, if any, have beenmade.”

2005- Wolfchase Galleria Ltd.Partnership v. Tennessee State Board ofEqualization, decision entered March16th, 2005

This case involved valuation challenge ona Simon owned super-regional mall inMemphis. The property owner’s appraiserwas David Lennhoff, MAI, who hadpreviously had success with an appraisalthat used course 800 methodology in theEssex House a/k/a Marriott CourtyardHotel case in the same jurisdiction. In themall case, the Administrative Judge foundthat Lennhoff’s appraisal could not beadopted as the basis for valuation, as it wasdeemed “speculative” and not appropriateunder Tennessee Code. In considerationof the precedential value of the Essex HouseMarriott Hotel case, the AdministrativeJudge found that several factors had causedreconsideration of that decision, noting thatit should be overruled.

In the Wolfchase Galleria decision, theJudge states that one of the key findings in

the Essex House case, the understandingthat the Appraisal Institute endorsedLennhoff’s methodology, was incorrect.The decision goes to quote from a letterdated December 7, 2004 from John Rossof the Appraisal Institute stating theInstitute’s impartiality and lack of anyspecific endorsed methodology forseparating intangibles from real property.The Judge also quotes from the Property& Probate letter to the editor written byJohn Ross, as well and the Daniel Lesserarticle in the Journal of Property TaxAssessment and Administration.

The Future

As this article points out, there has been aflurry of activity since the publication ofthe Appraisal Institute’s publication of the12th Edition of the Appraisal of Real Estatein 2001. Appraisers and assessors shouldbe aware that the “business value” theory,which was present in many of the shoppingmall cases of the 1990’s, is back on the frontburner under the guise of new terminologyand new definitions. The AppraisalInstitute is apparently reconsidering itsofficial position in this area regarding itseducational offering of Course 800. TheIAAO has done an excellent job in coveringthis issue with a balanced approach, andpublishing articles in a timely fashion.Considering that some of the cases did notcome to light until 2003, much progress wasmade on bringing this issue to the forefrontin the last two years. Assessors should beaware of these developments whenreviewing appraisals on hotel properties ordiscussing hotel cases with attorneys.

“There are no alternatives totaxing property.”

David BrunoriLocal Tax Policy

2003, Urban Institute Press


Let’s Get AcquaintedWritten by Michelle Cote, SAMA

Polk County Appraiser and Editorial Board Member

with Curt Becker

Most of us in our youth don’t say “I wantto be an assessor when I grow up” or “Gosh,wouldn’t it be fun to be an assessor?”Many of us made career choices that haveabsolutely nothing in common with beingan assessor. Curt Becker, Isanti CountyAssessor, started his “adult” employmentlife as a parochial school teacher. He taughtgrades 1 - 8 in a 2 room Lutheran schoolnear Cape Girardeau for 4 years. “In 1975I was struggling trying to make a livingfarming and Aaron Boettcher - CountyAssessor asked if I needed some additionalincome. At that time the CETA programwas available to fund positions forunemployed and underemployed people,and Aaron said I definitely qualified asunderemployed.” In 1979 Curt became theIsanti Deputy County Assessor and then in1984 became the Isanti County Assessor.

Isanti County has 16 jurisdictions withapproximately 22,000 parcels with a mixof residential, agricultural, commercial,seasonal, and apartment classes. Curt’sstaff includes 1 Deputy, 2.5 Appraisers, 1.5Administrative staff.

Curt has been a member of MAAO for 30year and is a 20 year member of IAAO.Over his 30 year career he has heldpositions on the Executive Board,Education, Agricultural, Membership andNominating Committees.

Curt and his wife Mavis have been marriedfor 40 years. They have two children Janet(deceased) and Paul (33). Curt says hishobbies are “pasture pool (golf),woodworking (get to buy tools), travel theUSA, church council and choir, maintainingflower beds my wife creates, and paddlingand camping in the BWCA.” As far asfuture plans, Curt’s wife Mavis has retiredfrom the local hospital and is waiting forhim to retire so they can travel. “I plan to

retire by the end of 2006. After that, Mavisand I would like to spend our winters inFlorida and spend more time on my hobbiesand with our granddaughters - Kira (6 yrs)and Abby (4 yrs).”

When asked about a memorable situation,Curt said, “Some of the most memorabletimes were riding with “Lil Dave” Johnson- Chisago County, to Region meetings. Onetime in particular, in the middle 70’s, fourof us “full sized” guys were riding in Dave’sGremlin car and the road had huge frostheaves in it. Dave always had a heavy footanyway and on this trip I know all fourwheels of the Gremlin were off the road aswe flew over the bumps and DeanBoettcher and I were bracing ourselvesagainst the roof of the back seat so we didn’tbreak our necks. When we finally arrivedat the meeting, it was just like unloading atiny clown car as we unfolded ourselves outof the Green Gremlin. Those were the goodold days when we could still fold andunfold.”

If Curt could change anything about theassessment field it would be to “convincelegislators that taxable value is MarketValue”. He finds his biggest challenge isthat “Our county is a transition “collar”county and we have many new ownershipprograms which require new valuationmethods.”

In conclusion, I would like to leave youwith these words of wisdom from CurtBecker who is definitely not in the “twilightof a mediocre career”

“I would like to encourageassessors to lighten up anddon’t make your job yourwhole life. What we do

isn’t brain or heart surgery.People don’t live or die

because of an appraisal-although some people think so.

Don’t let other people maketheir problems yours”

For information on Isanti County...page 30


Using Handheld Devices forMass AppraisalWritten by Cheryl Madsen, RES with Phil PenningtonReprint from IAAO Fair and Equitable, June 2005

Six years ago when Weber County, Utah,purchased a CAMA modeling system, ouroffice was excited to be on the cutting edgeof technology use for mass appraisal. But,right away we discovered that a technicalproblem existed: The CAMA system wouldnot functionally allow us to create a historyof a property; an important need for anassessor’s office, especially during Boardof Equalization (BOE) review. In addition,our CAMA system, database system and taxsystem did not communicate well with eachother. With ever-expanding county growth,our technical requirements were alsogrowing. We still collected field data usinga clipboard, paper, and a pencil and thenwe filed the newly gathered informationinto a room full of file cabinets.

When there was only an inch of file spaceleft in the last drawer, we began the processof scanning the property cards and enteringthem into the CAMA system. One by one,the file cabinets were then moved into thedark recesses of the basement, in the hopesthat we would eventually have extra roomfor the reappraisal staff. Now we werereally making progress in the technologicalage; we were going paperless. The axiom“In trying to go paperless, we used morepaper” is true. Moving the cards out of theoffice left appraisers without a readilyavailable copy of the property informationto attach to the clipboard and take out intothe field. So now, the field appraiser printedout the information from the database ontomore paper.

Once a year, with the cooperation of theCounty IT Department, our tax system wasupdated in time to turn the annualassessment roll over to the County Auditor.Our system’s original purpose was not tohelp with continual updating of properties

and recordings, but solely to determine thetotal value of property for taxation purposesat the close of each assessment year. Thislack of technical interaction betweensystems could have gone on forever.

What we sorely needed was a new systemthat didn’t require paper and that wouldallow integration between the systems forupdates and to provide an easily availablehistory of a property.

Because Utah is mandated to reappraiseeach property every five years, and WeberCounty had not gone through acomprehensive reappraisal for 30 years, thereappraisal in 2000 required a door-to-door,neighborhood-by-neighborhood visit. Ourdata collectors updated the information onthe property cards and took new pictures.Then other employees entered all theinformation anew into our CAMA system.Here we encountered another irritatingproblem; the digital cameras we used didnot always take a picture when we pressedthe shutter release button. The chorebecame to match photos with the correctproperties and, at times, to return toproperties to retake missed photos.

When there was only an inch offile space left in the last drawer,we began the process of scanningthe property cards and enteringthem into the CAMA system.

It was at one of our Utah Chapter IAAOmeetings that the use of handheld devicesfor mass appraisal came to my attention.

Another Utah assessor had hired a softwaredeveloper to develop a program that wouldtrack appraisers in the field through alocator in their cell phones. During hispresentation, the talk turned to expandingthe program to include the gathering of datawith a notebook-type device or handheldPersonal Digital Assistant (PDA). I wasaware of other sketching tools in themarketplace, but I did not see them as apractical tool for mass appraisal and themany licenses’ we would need put theproducts out of my price range, especiallywhen a maintenance contract was includedin the package.

All four counties along the Wasatch Front(Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah) in Utahuse the same CAMA system. The softwaredeveloper became interested in ourinformation-gathering processes and hethought he could write a field appraisalprogram, based on the Windows operatingsystem that would tie directly into ourCAMA system. He was able to adapt toour specific needs regarding both propertyinformation and sketching and also toinclude an affordable maintenanceprogram.

We envisioned a digital world on a stringwith all processes falling neatly into line—a system that would allow us to make datachanges, create sketches and update them,


take pictures, and finally, upload all of it toour CAMA system without going throughan additional data entry steps back in theoffice. Our different systems would at lastbe talking to one another. The desire to bepaperless in the field went from being anelusive dream to becoming a promisingpotential new reality. What a time saver!What a money saver! This vision ofintegration started our county on a journeyinto the world of high technology.

The first decision we were faced with waswhether to choose a notebook tablet PC ora PDA. Money played the biggest factorin deciding which field device to use. Welooked at notebooks that had beendeveloped for use in the armed services.They had a nice large screen and a ruggedlybuilt body, but, gosh, were they heavy.They were also expensive—in theneighborhood of $1,500 to $2,600 each—while PDA’s could be purchased for $400to $800 apiece. Based on the number ofusers in our office and our allocated budget,our price range was more in the PDA realm.We worked closely with our programmerto choose a PDA device that was suitablefor mass appraisal needs. With all headstogether, we picked a device that containedthe Pocket PC operating system. We chosea company with a reputation for quality and

service and our decision was rewardedwhen we were required to return one of the

Handheld Devices...from page 27

continued page 30

PDA’s for repairs. It is common for deviceslike these to have technical challenges. Wewere happy about our decision to choose areputable vendor as a priority over priceconsiderations. Even though our developerinitially recommended choosing a ruggedPDA or tablet, he fully supported the lessexpensive devices we chose.

To achieve our productivity goals requireda lot of careful thinking. We had a complexset of forms that we wanted to manage on arelatively small device. Our developerengineer took a unique approach. As hebuilt each piece of the user interface, hefield-tested it with our project manager. Byusing this process, they went back asnecessary and refined the flow and thedesign until it was as good as they couldpossibly make it. Many venders requireyou to fit your work to their design, but ourdeveloper worked as a partner anddelivered solutions uniquely suited to ourCAMA system.

Memory capacity is an importantconsideration when choosing a PDA, as ourcounty soon discovered. Most PDAs havea flash memory slot available for additionalcapacity; however, the slot can also be usedfor accessories such as a plug-in camera.Our county wanted both the camera andadditional memory. This requirementinfluenced us to purchase a PDA that wasequipped with an internal camera, thusfreeing the memory slot for a Secure Digital(SD) memory card.

The next big concern was the size of thescreen for sketching purposes. A tinyscreen would be almost impossible to useto record the footprint of a large, multi-angle house. Once again our designprogrammer put on his very impressivethinking cap. He came up with a sketchthat could be moved around on the screento the area that might require a sketchchange for an existing house. This area ofdevelopment has great potential. Theprogrammer and users all contributed ideasthat make using the sketching tool easy touse and enjoyable.

We decided the best and simplest place tostart using this new PDA-based technologywould be in our reappraisal department. Wewould load data for the daily batches ofproperties to be visited into the PDA. Thedata collector would then use the

downloaded property information to makenecessary corrections while at the property,take a new picture, and then upload it backinto our database. How easy is that! Theprimary job of our data entry staff wouldbe to conduct a quality control check oneach batch. We know from experience thatwe can rely on our reappraisal datacollectors because the take great pride inhaving correct data, but it never hurts tohave some quality checks in place. We hadan initial expectation that information goingthrough fewer hands would naturally reduceerrors.

Initial beta testing of the new field appraisalsystem caused a stir of excitement in ouroffice because it promised greatersimplicity and speed and the potential tostreamline the workload of our reappraisalstaff. We hoped for a smooth run right outof the chute, but as happens with new (orany) technology, problems arose. Some ofthe problems arose from minor differencesin the way that our data collectors operatedthe PDA system. A meeting with each datacollector and the developer brought out the


inconsistencies and the importance ofmaintaining uniform operating procedures.Some of the technology problems had todo with security issues related to the use ofwireless devices. We had to convince ourIT department to reconsider their firewallsafety policy to allow this type ofconnection.

The biggest slow down we are encounteringis coming up with a working contract thatapplies to all of the jurisdictions involved.Each of the Wasatch Front Counties wantsto address specific wants and needs and itall has to be covered in a single contract.There are variations in the way eachjurisdiction works and conductsreappraisals. During the ongoing

Handheld Devices...from page 29

negotiations, we hope to cover as manydifferences as we can.

The process of development andimplementation has taken longer thanexpected. We hoped for a six-month startupperiod, and this, of course, has proven tobe overly optimistic. In spite of time issues,we have ended up with a better finalproduct. During the implementationprocess we learned that some ideas didn’twork well in the field and our developercontinues to re-engineer better solutions.It has now been a year since we started thisproject, but our hopes are still high and ourexcitement has not abated. We plan to fullyimplement the new system, with a contractin place, by early June 2005. Once we havegone through an evaluation period, we willprovide a follow-up article to discussexpectations that were either met or missedduring this interesting and challengingprocess.

Isanti CountyOn February 13, 1857 Governor Gormanapproved an act creating the county ofIsanti, the name being derived from a bandof Sioux Indians, later known as the SanteeSioux.This area was the home of four tribes ofSioux Indians know as the Isanyati orIsantees. “Isan” in Sioux means knife.Knife Lake, thus named because of thestones on its banks useful in making knives.The other theory is they were the first tribesto receive knives from the Radisson party.

Isanti County is located in the east centralpart of the state. The area is 458 squaremiles including 13 townships and 3 cities.The County Seat is Cambridge.

Isanti County has changed from a German/Swedish agricultural community to a fastgrowing Transitional area. The U.S.Census Bureau recently reported that IsantiCounty was the 13th fastest growing countyin the USA by percentage.


State Board of AssessorsMeeting MinutesProvided by Pam LundgrenMinnesota Department of Revenue

January 10, 2005St. Cloud Holiday Inn

Chairperson Keith Albertsen convened themeeting at 9:30.

Members in attendance were:

Keith Albertsen, ChairpersonDoreen Pehrson, Vice ChairpersonJan JacksonSteve SinellGary AmundsonMike AmoDeb Volkert

Gregg Larson was unable to attend.

Election of Officers:

The chairman, Keith Albertsen, opened thefloor for nominations for the office ofSecretary/Treasurer. Doreen Pehrsonmade a motion to appoint Deb Volkert.Mike Amo seconded the motion. Themotion carried. Gary Amundson made amotion to close the nominations and casta unanimous ballot. Doreen Pehrsonseconded the motion. The motion carried.

The chairman opened the floor fornominations for the office of Vice Chair.Jan Jackson made a motion to nominateDoreen Pehrson. Mike Amo seconded themotion. There being no furthernominations, the chairperson closednominations and requested a vote. Themotion carried.

The chairman opened the floor fornominations for the office of Chairperson.Mike Amo made a motion to nominateKeith Albertsen. Gary Amundson

seconded the motion. The motion carried.Deb Volkert made a motion to closenominations and cast a unanimous ballot.Steve Sinell seconded the motion. Themotion carried.

Grading Committee Appointments:

Mike Amo made a motion to reappoint themembers of the Demonstration Narrativeand Form Report Grading Committee asfollows:

Chairperson: Steve BehrenbrinkerMembers: Bob Wilson and Kim Jensen

Jan Jackson seconded the motion. Themotion carried.

The Minutes of the November 22, 2004Meeting were read and discussed. SteveSinell made a motion to approve theminutes as read. Gary Amundson secondedthe motion. The motion carried.

Secretary’s Report:

· A Notice of Intent to Re-appointhas been submitted to theSecretary of State for DoreenPehrson. Doreen has agreed toserve another 4 year term.

· A Notice of Vacancy has beensubmitted to the Secretary of Statefor Susan Sundahl’s position.

· New phone contact list for boardmembers was distributed to eachmember.

· December 13, 2004 letterconcerning county contracting

with local appraiser wasdistributed to each member.

· Letter to Marcy Barritt, MurrayCounty Assessor regarding anassessor with an expired licensewas distributed to each member.

· Letter to Jeff Namie regarding hisrequest for SAMA was distributedto each member.

· Letter to core course instructorsregarding ProfessionalDevelopment Committee wasdistributed to each member.

· Travel accommodation letterswere distributed to members foruse when making reservations forlodging and travel for Boardbusiness.

Announcements:

· Mileage increase – EffectiveJanuary 1, 2005 the new mileagerate on expense reports is: $0.405per mile. This shows up as $0.41on the expense report, butcomputes at .405 for payment.

· Outside activities letters went outDecember 10, 2004. A few callshave arrived from assessors whochecked the wrong boxes on thelicense renewal application andasked to have that status changed.

· A packet of information has beensent to the DOR employees whoprocess our applications andforms. Included were copies ofall the application forms and the


amount of the required fee and a copy ofour tentative scheduled meeting dates.

· Course A, Assessment Laws,History and Procedures will beheld on January 24 – 28, 2005 atthe Earle Brown Center.

· A copy of the reinstatement formwas sent to Jacque Betz whoincorporated it into the Board ofAssessors web page.

· The rosters from the PropertyValuation Course have beenreceived and the transcriptsupdated. However, two assessorshave not yet paid for their coursesand BEU’s will not be awarded tothem until the MAAO advises usthat the courses have been paidfor.

· Ehlers and Associates will beholding the annual Public FinanceSeminar on February 3 and 4,2005 at the Earle Brown HeritageCenter. Topics covered includeseveral seminars on TIF,Commercial Property Acquisitionand Relocation, JOB Zone, CourtRulings, Abatements, TaxReform, Assessment Bonds andEminent Domain. Per BoardPolicy, assessors who submitproof of having attended bothdays of the seminars will receive1.0 BEU’s.

Request for BEU’s/CEU’s:

Tim Houle, Morrison County requestedBEU’s for a Leadership Training Programsponsored by the county consisting of four3-hour sessions on October 6, October 21,November 10 and December 1, 2004.Topics covered were UnderstandingLeadership in the 21st Century, DevelopingExceptional Personal Leadership, Makingthe Most of Your Team and CultivatingCivic Leadership. Per Board Policy .3BEU’s will awarded to each of the three-

hour sessions. A roster for each session hasbeen submitted to the Board office.

Adeline Olson, Pennington CountyAssessor, requested BEU’s for a 7-hourseminar from Educational Seminars forProfessionals, Inc. entitled, BuildingContractor Continuing EducationInformation. The seminars will be held atvarious locations throughout the state fromDecember 2004 through March 2005 andwill cover the process of planning newhomes from the initial vision to the start ofconstruction. Per Board Policy, 0.7 BEU’swill be awarded to assessors who submitproof of attendance at this seminar.

Dave Wavrin, Steele County requestedcontinuing education credit for thefollowing GIS courses/seminars heattended from the MN GIS/LISConsortium:

· AutoCAD 2002 Level 1, 21 hoursof instruction completed on Oct.11, 2002

· GIS on the Internet, 2 days (12hours) of instruction completedOct. 22, 2002

· Spring Workshops, 6 hours ofinstruction on March 11, 2003

· Expanding ArcGIS withGeodatabases, 3 hours ofinstruction on October 8,2003

· The Power of Parcels, 3 hours ofinstruction on October 4, 2004.Total of 45 hours of instruction.Per Board Policy, the abovecourses and seminars will receivea total of 4.5 BEU’s.

Application for Certified MinnesotaAssessor:

Steve Sinell made a motion to award theCertified Minnesota Assessor designationto the following individuals:

Craig Anton, Carver CountyStacy Bannor, Beltrami County

Mary Black, Cook CountyBrian Jobe, City of MinneapolisTodd Politz, Independent Fee AppraiserTheresa Quinn, Sherburne CountyTamara Sawatzke, Meeker CountyGloria Schley, Eau Claire, WisconsinMichael Stalberger, Blue Earth CountyKimberly VanHoecke, Pipestone CountyLavon Vieths-Augustine, Goodhue CountyCassie Zimmer, Carver County

Deb Volkert seconded the motion. Themotion carried.

Request to Reinstate SAMA:

Dave Wavrin from Steele County wroterequesting reinstatement of his SAMA. Hislast license expired at the end of Fiscal Year2003 and he submitted some GISworkshops to bring his continuingeducation up to date, which the Board actedon earlier in the meeting. Mr. Wavrin hadbeen informed that to reinstate to theSAMA level he would need the requiredUSPAP and PACE courses in addition towhat he submitted for continuing education.The Board considered the question ofwhether Mr. Wavrin could relicense as aCMA or CMAS and then relicense againwhen the required courses for SAMA arecomplete. The Board’s decision: Mr.Wavrin has enough continuing educationunits to fulfill the requirement for CMA orCMAS. He may reinstate at either level.In order to reinstate at the SAMA level hewill need a USPAP seminar and the PACECourse (he can challenge the PACEexamination) which will then be appliedback to the 4-year period of July 1, 2000through June 30, 2004. He will be able torelicense at the SAMA level after thecompletion of the requirements. In orderto relicense at the end of the current 4-yearblock (July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2008)he will need to again take both the USPAPseminar and the PACE course, as well ashave 5 BEU/CEU’s to meet the requirementfor Fiscal Year 2009 relicensure. A letterwill be sent to Mr. Wavrin detailing therequirements.

State Board Minutes...from page 31


Issues/Discussion Items:

Board members discussed the oralinterview questions and suggested editsmade by Mike Amo. Board members readthrough the suggested changes and madeedits to the questions. A copy of the revisedquestions will be given to each interviewcandidate when seated for the interview tohelp them prepare for the interview. Thecopy of the questions will be returned tothe Board members at the conclusion of theinterview.

The Board discussed payments to membersof the grading committee for various items.Currently no amount has been set to paymembers of the grading committee forgrading of the case study examinations.There was discussion regarding the amountof the grading payment compared to thatof a form report or demonstration narrative,as well as compared to the fee the Boardcharges for these items. Mike Amo made amotion to pay the graders $75 for gradingthe case study examinations. DoreenPehrson seconded the motion. The motionfailed with only one affirmative vote. Aftermore discussion, Gary Amundson made amotion to pay the graders $60 for gradingthe case study examinations. Deb Volkertseconded the motion. The motion carried.

Currently there is no requirement to beincome qualified in order to obtain AMA.A county can hire an AMA as their countyassessor and the person has two years toobtain SAMA. See also MS 273.11, Subd.13 re: Valuation of income-producingproperty. Discussion indicated that theBoard members are ok with AMArequirements as they stand.

The Board received a letter from anassessor who owns an appraisalcorporation. His question regarded apossible conflict of interest and/or outsideactivity. Discussion resulted in theconsensus that neither the assessor nor theassessor’s corporation (i.e. employees) mayaccept appraisal work in any jurisdictionthat employs the assessor. A letter will besent to the assessor informing him of theanswer to his question.

Board members reviewed the proposed FY2006 license application and suggestedchanges to clarify the check-off box arearegarding outside activities. The changewill be on the new application.

Comments that were forwarded to theBoard regarding a recent course approvedby the Board for continuing education wereshared with Board members. Keith willrespond to the person who forwarded thecomments.

Professional Development Committeeupdate: Keith Albertsen gave the Boardmembers information on what will bediscussed at the February 3, 2005 meeting.Topics mentioned were course overview,required courses, expectations, whatassessors should know and whether coursesare meeting those needs.

The Board reviewed a draft of boardpolicies that will be included in the revisedmanual. In addition, some policies werefurther clarified by the Board. GaryAmundson made a motion to clarify theappraisal experience policy that no less than6 months and no more than 2 years ofappraisal experience will be consideredtoward the assessment experiencerequirement. Mike Amo seconded themotion. The motion carried.

The Board also clarified a policy on thegrading of form reports, demonstrationnarratives and tax court narratives. DebVolkert made a motion to clarify the policythat if a narrative or form report fails aformal grading twice on the same subjectproperty, a new subject must be selectedand a new narrative or form report written,as well as the narrative report writingseminar attended. If a tax court narrativefails twice, it must be rewritten andsubmitted as a demonstration narrative.Gary Amundson seconded the motion. Themotion carried.

Policies to be included in the newEducation and Licensing Manual will bedivided into two subjects; education and

experience, and the effective date of thepolicies will be included.

There being no further business, theChairperson set the date of the next meetingas March 21, 2005 at the Department ofRevenue.

Jan Jackson made a motion to pay allmeeting expenses. Mike Amo seconded themotion. The motion carried.

Gary Amundson made a motion to adjourn.Steve Sinell seconded the motion. Themotion carried and the meeting adjournedat 3:00 PM.

State Board Minutes...from page 32


MAAO 2OO5Summer SeminarsWritten by Jan Olsson, AMA, RESCity of PlymouthAssociate Editor

The 2005 Summer Seminars were held May24th and 25th in St. Cloud at the HolidayInn. Wednesday started with theCommissioner’s Session at 10 o’clock.President Armstrong addressed the groupwith a little help from Steve Behrenbrinker.Commissioner Salomone spoke as well asGordon Folkman from the Department ofRevenue. They covered the legislativeissues and changes forecasted for theupcoming year. Lunch followed and PaulKnutson was once again busy giving awaydoor prizes. A skit was presented toencourage attendance at the Fall Conferencewhich will be hosted in the Metro area atthe Marriot in Minnetonka. A print wasraffled off and the profits went to offset thecost of the new camera for the Equal EyesEditorial Board.

Classes began after lunch and the afternoonwas filled with a wide range of classofferings. Attendance was at an all timehigh. The items for the Silent Auction wereon display during the afternoon at theHoliday Inn.

The 400 Club was the site for theWednesday night dinner. The items for theSilent Auction were moved to the club andthe bidding continued until after dinner. Thefifty/fifty drawing was held and anotherattendee walked away with a big smile ontheir face and cash in their pocket.

Thursday’s breakfast was well receivedbefore the start of classes. A large thankyou to the Conference Committee,Conference Coordinator and EducationCommittee for making the SummerSeminars a success once again.


continued page 36


Summer Seminars...from page 35


Seminar Instructors


Region 1 Kathy Delaske

Region 2 Dan Whitman

On the Gowith MAAO

The February meeting was hosted byOlmstead County and held at the OlmsteadCounty Government Center in Rochester.The guest speaker was Ashleigh Rosson-Hoffman of Oakwood Broadway Plaza,who conducted a tour of the plaza indowntown Rochester and showed a videoon Oakwood Properties, which are knownworldwide.

The meeting was called to order byPresident Peterson. Region Director BobPickett reminded everyone thatmembership applications were mailed inDecember. If you did not receive one, onecan be obtained from the MAAO website.

Brad Johnson reported for the LegislativeCommittee. The committee wants the

Region’s opinion on the penalty if a trainedmember is not at the Local Board of Appealand Equalization. Region 1 votedunanimously that the township/city wouldforfeit their right to have local reviewmeetings.

Steve Hacken reported that the nextdeadline for Equal Eyes is March 1. Thesummer issue will be electronic.

Winona County said that their 100% CERis at $2800/acre. Olmstead Countyadjusted their 100% CER value to $3700/acre. Olmstead County will also host theMarch meeting.

The SE Realtors Association schedule wasdiscussed. MCCC is changingprogramming of tax capacity so eachcounty will be one the same page with less

confusion. They need more assessors to beinvolved and are asking for help with this.

Region Director Bob Pickett suggested adonation to be made to the Silent Auction.A $100 donation will be sent to go towardthe Silent Auction from Region 1. LloydMcCormick reported that one of hisresponsibilities as Regional Rep will be tokeep track of chairpersons in his region.

Steve Hacken announced that the currentissue of Equal Eyes should be out toeveryone. If you have any opinions toexpress, please submit your ideas. The nextissue will be posted on the website. Region1 was well represented in the latest issue.

There will be no meeting in May due toSummer Seminars. Goodhue County willhost the June meeting.

The Double Play Sports Bar and Grill inBlue Earth was the location for the MarchRegion 2 meeting. President Sue Wiltsecalled the meeting to order. There were 24in attendance. Pete Preston was introducedas a new hire for Blue Earth County. SueSchultz has been appointed Mcleod CountyAssessor as of March 22. She replaces HalKirchoff who recently retired.Congratulations to you both.

Tom Mahoney reported for the AgCommittee. They have not met recently,but are always looking for CREP and RIM

sales and articles for Equal Eyes. DaveArmstrong encouraged everyone to sign upfor Summer Seminars this year. There willbe some good classes this year. JimHallstrom discussed the new legislation thatis pending. Jim emailed each county withthe new bills listing. The DOR requestedthat you send in your Ag border mapsASAP. The BOA training will be heldannually. The township association willprobably be offering it at their annualmeeting also.

Dan Whitman will purchase a print forRegion 2 to be donated for the Summer

Seminar raffle. Rachel Freeman will beheading up the Silent Auction again thisyear. Julie Roisen discussed the mentoringprogram for people interested in doing theresidential form report and case studyexam. Julie will be coordinating themeeting times and places. There will be alimit to the number of people that will beable to attend. Let Julie know if you haveany suggestions or comments.

Doreen discussed the idea of setting up aseparate checking account to be used justfor Region 2 business. A motion was madeand seconded to open an account. Judy



Region 3 Gregory Kramber

Region 2 continueddiscussed 1031 exchanges. There will beno meeting in April. The May meeting willbe held at Swany’s in Courtland.

It was announced that Orlin Schaffer,retired Carver County Assessor, has cancer.He is improving. Tom Mahoney reportedthat the Ag Committee is looking tosomeone to teach Course F. They are also

looking for someone to write articles forEqual Eyes. The committee is stillinterested if anyone has CREP sales.

Tom Nash was present from the Departmentof Revenue. The state is looking at GreenAcres usage. They are also looking atoutlier sales. Doreen reported that the StateBoard will be meeting in St. Cloud. MCCCis looking at new vendors.

A print was located for the Silent Auction.The studio where it was located gave $100off the price of the print. A thank you notewill be sent to the shop. The next meetingwill be hosted by Blue Earth County.

Mike Sheehy called the February meetingto order. It was held at the Ronneby Barand Grill in Ronneby. Jeanne Hendersonreported for the Agricultural Committee.The state grain elevator schedule is on theMAAO website. Economic and functionaldepreciation were discussed.

Brian Kaester dispersed the schedule forclass offerings at Summer Seminar. GaryGrossing reported that MAAO willcopyright and own the education coursesoffered. There was discussion oneliminating minimum class sizerequirements. The Executive Committeereported that a new camera had beenpurchased for the Editorial Board. Apossible link between MAAO and MAAPwill be examined. The 2005 FallConference will be held at the Marriot inMinnetonka; 2006 at Cragun’s. Rosy Courtwill be retiring April 2005.

Gary Grossing reported that 41 countieshad ratified an extension of the existingcontract between MCCC and ACS through2008. The March meeting will be held inIsanti County.

The Creamery in Isanti was the site of theMarch Region III meeting. JeanneHenderson reported for the Ag committeethat there will be a course offered atSummer Seminars on Special Aghomesteads. Greg will contact StephanieNyhus and ask if the flow charts areavailable in electronic format.

Brian Koester dispersed the schedule forthe Summer Seminars. The registrationforms are attached. Gary Grossinger hadno Legislative Report but encourageeveryone to read the attachment regardingMinnesota hosting the 2009 IAAOconference. He also reported thatinformation pertaining to proposedlegislation can be found at:www.senate.leg.state.mn.us.

The DOR has requested that each countyin the Region send their 2004 and 2005 Agland schedules to them. The agriculturalperimeter and Township Averages reportsare due electronically [email protected] or in hard copyby April 15. The Local Board of Appealand Equalization training is going well.

Thee was a meeting held at the DOR facilityto discuss proposed utility valuation ruleschanges. A copy of a report prepared byBrent Eyre, ASA, is available on the DORwebsite. An aggregate meeting was heldin February. Please contact Bruce Sandersif you have any questions regarding thevaluation of aggregate facilities. The Aprilmeeting will be held at the Crow’s Nest inMora.

Jeanne Henderson reported that a courseon Special Ag Homesteads will be held atSummer Seminars. The DOR will beupdating flow charts at a later date as wellas providing a draft. The flow charts willbe distributed in an electronic format onceit is available. There was an aggregate

meeting held February 25 at the DORfacility in St. Paul.

Gary Grossinger announced the MCCCRegion 2 meeting will be held April 27.One of the agenda items is an update onthe RFP. AVT will make a recommendationregarding the RFP at the MCCC AnnualConference that will be held at theArrowwood Resort in June.

Al Heim reported that the format for theState Board of Equalization meetings willchange for 2005 to more of a discussionbased meeting. The policies that will beused by the Regional Representatives inmaking their recommendations are thesame as those used in 2004. They will bereviewing agricultural borders betweencounties for equalization. Values shouldhave a 10% or less difference or have somecompelling reason why they should not beequalized.

The Olde Timers Picnic will be held July29 at the Warner Park Nature Center inStearns County. The annual fishing outingwill be June 3. The May meeting will beheld at the Little Falls County Club.



Region 4 Debra DavisThe February meeting was called to orderby Marty Schmidt, Director, at the ForestLake Restaurant in Grand Rapids. BobAnderson requested that an agriculturalconservation easement sales be reported tohim. Marty Schmidt will be developing aseminar having to do with conservationeasements of all types. Gary Amundsonmentioned that a bulletin regarding ActivelyFarming will be forthcoming. There will belanguage in the bulletin not included in thestatute.

Marty received a telephone call from awoman from the Research Committeerequesting information regarding lot sales.She wanted to know the valuationdifference between a lakeshore lot and a lotacross the road with no lake access. He alsoreported that there will be quite a few billsregarding the state general tax.

The Executive Board has asked counties torespond regarding the certification processand local boards of appeal. This pertains tocounties who have local assessors. SteveKuha needs your responses as soon aspossible. The big question here is, foes thelocal assessor retain his/her duties if ataxing district opts out of the Local Board ofAppeal and Equalization. Steve will beinvolved in a presentation to the house TaxCommittee. The presentation will coverwhat we as assessors do and how, and willbe an overview of the valuation process,classification of property and appeals. Thismay be a good thing to present to countycommissioners. If you are interested,contact Steve.

Larry Daigle mentioned the line item inCAMA for valuation increases/decreaseson summary screen by creating animprovement. If you would like moreinformation regarding this feature, contactLarry.

Larry Johnson reported for MCIS and saidthat LuAnn is doing quality assurancetesting on valuation notices. He is spending100% of his time with another MCISemployee on issue and permit tracking and

the CAMA system.. MCIS will be lookingfor some volunteers for testing.They also have a new employee, WarrenJewett.

A request was made to all Regions inMinnesota to send minutes of their meetingsto be posted on the MAAO website. It wassuggested to table this discussion until afuture date. The December 2005 meetingwill be held December 9. Marty Codyattended a seminar in St. Cloud regardingroadways, cart ways, road right-of-ways,how roads are vacated, etc. It wasmentioned several times during the seminarthat assessors need to be involved in thisprocess. Scott Winter suggested that Martyforward the information to John Gellatly fora possible topic at Fall Conference.

Mel Hintz suggested that Region IV inviteGordon Folkman and John Hagen to aregion meeting. An invitation was sent.Dale Smith brought up Acquila. ByFebruary 15, 51 counties were supposed tohave an okay from their County Boardregarding settlement.

A discussion was held on the topic of themonth=PILT. Mel brought up a situationregarding PILT. They chose ¾ of the 1%value. The state then acquired a large tractof land within the five year acquisition timetable. When large purchases are made, thecounties should have an input on whether ornot the sale happens within the five yearperiod. To obtain an electronic PILT report,contact Mike Jordan [email protected].

Carol Waselk mentioned that the summerseminars are listed on the MAAO website.No one was sure if a hard copy registrationwas being mailed out. Marci Morelandreported that the Editorial Board will bemeting at Summer Seminars. She also saidthe committee had entered the nominationsfor the IAAO Zangerle Award. MarkPeterson handed out a list of bills that havebeen introduced thus far in the legislativesession. Gary Amundson stated that thereare quite a few new members on the housetax committee. The driving force behind the

issues is that there is more information thatcan be accessed by the public.

Gary also commented on the resort bills.Resorts of over 1.5 million in value willincrease drastically in taxes if the bills gothrough. Mark commented that it will helpsmaller resorts but will be a detriment to thelarger resorts.

The next meeting will be held in June and itwill be the annual Region IV picnic. TomGilmore will check on the availability ofGunn Park in Grand Rapids. GaryAmundson reported the DOR is receivingthe Spring Mini Abstracts. Ag maps arecoming in slowly. A resort survey will becoming out soon regarding resort valuationprocedures. The legislature is looking atdefining the way resorts are valued.Counties will be receiving an email with theState Board of Equalization dates. Thelicense renewal letters said a transcript wasincluded. This was a misprint and since it isthe first year of the cycle no transcripts wereattached.

A motion was made and passed to donatemoney toward bird feeders for the SilentAuction. Mel Hintz will purchase them.Mel requested that a mini presentation ofthe Local Board training be presented at oneof the Region meetings. This will bediscussed at a later date.

Mel reported that John Gellatly is the newAssistant County Assessor in St. LouisCounty. Mel asked if anyone would beattending the meeting regarding Enbridge.The Acquila case is still out there. LorellaFulton inquired about having a place forGPS components in the AS400.



Region 5 Byron Swart

Region 6 Barb Trochlil

The January meeting was once again heldat the Pizza Ranch in Slayton. BarbDybdah open the meeting with the question:A Church is paying rent to anothercongregation for their minister to live intheir parsonage. Is the Parsonage stillexempt even though it is rented? Theconsensus was that more information wasneeded.

Tom Houselog asked if the value on a Methhouse should be reduced. Consensus wasthat the owner should make the request andthe reduction would be based on the clean-up. If a minor is living in a home with themother and the mother has no interest inthe home but the minor does, the homesteadshould be granted. Can a spouse of anowner get the blind homestead if the spouseis not part of the ownership? Husband issole owner but the wife is blind. Accordingto the DOR they would be entitled to theblind classification.

Can a second homestead be granted to aperson living in a machine shed? Theproperty should be split and the homesteadshould be granted as residential on themachine shed. Dan Eischens asked is itpossible that Green Acres land can be soldto someone without them going back andpaying back taxes. It was agreed that it ispossible under certain circumstances.

Gail Bondhus questioned the taxation ofsmall vs. large wind towers. The DOR willmake the determination based on usage andcapabilities. A Dairy facility has beenproposed. Would it qualify for JOBZ? Theconsensus was no because the facilitywould be agricultural and JOBZ is for C/I.How are counties assessing the land underthe wind towers. Some are classifying themCommercial and some as Agricultural.

Dean Champine inquired on how to valuenewer, larger mono slope cattle buildings.Does the MPCA exemption cover just thecement, sidewalls or the whole building?Can a business trust be granted homestead?What should a County Assessor do when aCRV has a wrong reported value? Noconsensus. DDA owns property. Whendoes it become exempt and for how long?Most felt that it could be exempt for sevenyears. What should CRP land be classified?The consensus was it should be classifiedas agricultural. A couple purchases aproperty during the year. One of the partiesmoves in before December 1, the other afterDecember 1. It was felt that ½ of thehomestead should be granted.

Judy Freisen asked what Commercial/Industrial values are doing in larger cities.March Barritt asked when the New PlatLaw takes effect. Consensus was after thefirst platting and not after a re-platting.Joyce Schmidt wondered if Hoop Buildingsare taxable. Answer was yes. Can a partyget Active Farming on two parcels? If theson farms his dad’s property he could getthe active farming. If he owns the landhimself but does not live on the propertybut farms it, he can also get the activefarming.

Can a city abate real estate tax? They cannot abate tax but can refund the portion ofthe tax that goes to the city directly to theowner.

Byron reported that 10 individuals havesigned up for IAAO 402 and 15 are needed.The schedule for the PVC Courses are out.E-learning seminars were discussed at theEducation Committee meeting. The Pace

course is being rewritten and will be offeredas a full week course.

At the March meeting more questions werediscussed. Barb Dybdahl asked if a churchis paying rent to multiple churches for oneminister who serves all the churches to livein a parsonage, is the parsonage exempt?Consensus is yes. Tom received a responsefrom the DOR concerning mobile homes.The mobile home would be personalproperty and the land would also beconsidered homestead. Dan Eischens islooking for continuity on the method windtowers are being valued. Gail Bondhusasked when does the Plat Law come intoplace? If the property is farmed but theinfrastructure is in, is it valued asAgricultural or Residential? No consensus.

If a piece of Ag property has a house movedonto and is to be used for hunting purposeswhat should the classification be? Noconsensus. If a son receives 1/6 interest ina quarter of Ag land should it be classifiedhomestead or Actively Farming?Consensus was that the Special AgriculturalHomestead classification would be theroute to go. If a property is owned by theSoil and Water District is it exempt? Yes.Are meteorological towers taxable? Theyare not taxable because they are temporaryin nature. A property that is not used forcommercial purposes for a period of timecannot be changed to residential unless theuse changes. What does each county dowith food shelf distribution sites? If thedistribution entity rents the site it shouldbe commercial, if there is no rent thenexempt.

$100 was donated to the silent auction. TheJune meeting will be held in Westbrook atthe Rolling Hills Golf Course.

The June meeting of Region VI was heldat Peters on the Lake in Litchfield. CarolSchutz gave a report on the CREP courtcase. Tim Falkum stated that the EducationCommittee had met in May and the weeklong courses will be taken over by MAAO.

Two courses, B & H, will be rewritten for2006. The PVC course dates have beenestablished. The line up for the classofferings at the Fall Conference has beendetermined. The PACE course will not beoffered in 2005 and 8 hours of the EthicCourse may be required.

Bob Anderson reported that the ElevatorSeminar went well. Keep collecting CREPsales. The updating of the Grain ElevatorManual is ongoing.



Region 7 Cheryl Wall

Region 6 continuedConnie Erickson reported for the ExecutiveBoard. Overall MAAO membership isdown but the attendance at SummerSeminars was 431. The list serve for theMAAO website is up and running. An auditfor Finance is being conducted in July.Rules and Regulations need to be submittedby August 11.

Site selection for the Fall Conference willbe Duluth in 2007 and Breezy Point in2008. The Fall Conference will be held inMinnetonka October 9-12 at the MarriotSW.

There have been some personnel changesin the assessment field. Hal Kirchoff retiredand Sue Schultz is the new County Assessorfor McLeod County. Mel Heinz is theacting County Assessor in St. Louis County.Dan Weber is the Assessor for KanabecCounty and Patrick Todd is the new Cityof Minneapolis Assessor. If any Regionwould like their telephone numbers on theMAAO website they need to maintain them.

Al Heim and Steve Hurni thanked everyonefor their work on the State Boards.Restructuring is still going on and theyanticipate the duties for the reps will be

changing. Approximately 75 countiesresponded to the survey sent by the DOR.Green Acres needs to be addressed as botha long term and a short term problem.Gordon would like to get somethingtogether for the 2006 assessment. TheDOR is also remodeling.

Lori, Doug and Judy will meet with Bob togo over any questionable situations ofactive farming to bring back to theAgricultural Committee. Tim requestedthat if you have any ideas on seminars to e-mail him. The next meeting will be held atTorge’s in Glenwood.

Region VII members met at Bruno’s SupperClub in Todd County for the Marchmeeting. John Hagen and Gordon Folkmanattended as special guests at our invitation.Several topics of discussion were sent tothem prior to the meeting. Classificationinterpretations were discussed and LBAEtraining. Some members asked why countycommissioners were not required to attendthe training. It was explained that theproblem has been obtaining a quorumrequirement at appeal meetings. Therefore,the training has been directly toward boardmembers. It was asked if the DOR has goneto legislature to change some of theverbiage in the statute. It was never theintent of the DOR to lose local assessors ifthe local boards did not receive the propertraining certificate. They hope to havesome verbiage changed. The view of thegroup is that we may need new legislationin the future so county/city assessors havemore authority over local assessors ingeneral. John did confirm that it is not arequirement for taxpayers to attend theOpen Book meetings before going to theCounty Board of Equalization. It wasagreed that this should be changed in thefuture. The DOR will be sending out adirective to all assessors in regard to openbook meetings and what is required of thecounty/city assessors.

The question was asked as to why there isseparately calculated limited value on landand buildings. There is nothing in the

statute that requires it, but it isrecommended by the DOR. The samemethod is to be continued until they lookinto further.Can the county board establish anabatement policy that limits or restrictswhen they will act on an abatement? Thecounty board must consider all abatements.John stated that for an abatement to beapproved, it takes the approval of theassessor, auditor, and the county board (allthree). If it is not approved by just one ofthese, the abatement is dead.

Resorts that are selling the exclusive useof a cabin and a percentage share in thecommons area of the property should stillbe classified as seasonal recreation and theMa & Pa class should not continue. If anowner listed on a property is the husbandand the wife is out of state, the homesteadclassification should be set at 50%.

The last topic that was discussed was inregard to the sales ratio of commercialproperty when no adjustment is made forthe business value of the property. In manycases the value of the business is muchhigher than the buildings housing thebusiness and the sale price sees noadjustment for this. The regional repsresponded they would take intoconsideration the amount of blue sky ifcounties verify the sale. The groupresponded by saying that when verifyingthe sales, the parties involved don’t always

answer the questions honestly. Therefore,it is hard to get a valid picture of what isreal estate and what may be blue sky.

Gordon talked about the remodeling at theDOR. His goal is to decentralize andcounty/city assessor become more involvedin the DOR directives, bulletins, etc. He istrying to become more proactive in salesratio analysis. Gordon would like to addmore technical support on incomegenerating properties. He is also workingon a new organizational chart. He does notsee a major change in the role of the repsand the number of reps will probablyremain the same. He also updated the groupon legislative issues.

Wilkin County was be the location for theApril meeting held at The Northern Grille.It was announced that Larry Johnson hadsent a card from the Mayo Clinic sayingthat everything was going well. BradAverbeck reported that the fiscal year 2006license applications are out. The RegionalReps have been instructed to note anychanges in positions with county assessors,recorders, auditors, treasurers and chairmenof county commissioners. The Spring MiniAbstracts are past due. Steve Hurnireported that there is a real short turn aroundon the 5 year history reports once the springmini abstract has been submitted.



Keith Albertson reported that the StateBoard of Assessors did approve theresidential case exam so the test will beavailable as soon as the rule change processis final. This should occur in April or earlyMay. The Board is accepting applicationsfor the public member vacancy.

Region 7 continuedSuzie Lohse mentioned the $75 renewal forthe legal register. A motion was made andcarried not to renew the subscriptionbecause the information can be retrievedfrom the Tax Court website. Turn into Suzieany sales regarding agricultural andcommercial sales and she will include themin the next data exchange report. Gary

Brock reported that the Moorhead K-Martcase is settled but the paperwork has notbeen finalized.

Bob Moe suggested to the Regional Repsthat there should be a requirement to havea copy of the appraisal attached to the CRVat the time of the sale. Next meeting willbe held in Becker County.

Region 8 Nancy AmbersonVice-Chair Adeline Olson called theFebruary meeting to order. A discussionfollowed on apartment valuation andformulas. Joe Skerik from BeltramiCounty, provided an outstanding handoutcontaining apartment sales, average rentalfigures and pictures. Joe has agreed tocollect and compile all the apartment datafrom all the counties. Brad indicated thatin the City of Morehead, apartment saleson 4-plexes indicated around a $35,700 perunit and on the average $20,600 on unitsover 4.

Steve reported that information regardingeasement sales is being compiled. TheDOR will be putting out a bulletin inregards to special AG. Cheryl asked if acourse should be offered in Bemidji inreplacement of the PVC since the Bemidjisite has been removed from the circuit for2005. It was decided that since John Hagenwill be hosting a condensed Week A inThief River Falls that we should wait andlook at 2006.

Steve Kuha requested the number ofjurisdictions that are assessed by LocalAssessors and the number of jurisdictionsthat each County is responsible for. BradAverbeck covered the Supreme Courtruling on the Becker County tax court caseregarding the right to tax a manufacturedhome as real estate when owned in feesimple by a Native American. The DOR isproposing rewriting the rules on valuingpublic utilities. With this is mind there isgoing to be a public meeting on March 9 atthe DOR building to cover purposedchanges.

Joe Skerik from Beltrami County agreedto collect and compile the data on anyfuture apartment sales from all counties.Brad Averbeck indicated that 10 & 9.5overall rates were being used by othercounties in other regions.

Bruce Dahlin and Russ Steer attended theForm Report/Residential Case Study prepcourse and gave an overview if the class.They indicated that the first day wasoverwhelming and went too fast, withguides and graphs. The second dayinvolved more hands on with CRV statisticsand the pace was a bit slower. There were107 people in attendance. Overall it wasconsidered a good class.

Rob Wagner gave a brief recap of theProfessional Development Committee’ssecond meeting. They are looking for weeklong courses with updates and changes tothem and will check with St. Cloud and theU of M. The committee members as wellas the instructors were present. Theydiscussed dividing the Seasonal RecreationCourse into three categories: commercial,cabin/lakeshore and easements. It was alsonoted that MAAO reserves all rights.

Are Chambers of Commerce taxable? Arelong term city leases taxable? Thesequestions were raised. The next meetingwill be May 13 at Joe’s in Erskine.

Vice-Chair Adeline Olson called the Maymeeting to order. There were someconcerns expressed about ‘small towncommercial values’. Polk county has somedata available on Pamida stores.

Rob Wagner gave an overview of theProfessional Development Committee ofwhich he has been named Chair. Thecommittee will review educational coursesand some licensure requirements. Rulechanges will also be reviewed. There hasbeen talk of collaborating with St. CloudUniversity to rewrite and be the serviceprovider to out courses in place at the U ofM.

Brad reported that there are currently twopilot counties working on electronicsubmission of Certificates of Real EstateValues. He also stressed that any countyexperiencing the selling of tiled land willneed to identify those sales. The sales willbe tracked and placed on a spreadsheet.

Wayne Bendickson suggested that two rodsand reels be purchased for the SilentAuction. It was approved and the purchasewill be made. A quick survey was made asto how many counties outsource their taxstatements, valuation notices, etc. It wassuggested that those counties that dooutsource put together some cost figuresto share with other counties at the nextmeeting. The Next meeting will be June17.


Region 9 Laura FridgenThe March meeting was called to order byPresident Atchison who thanked the Cityof Edina for hosting the meeting. EdinaAssessor, Bob Wilson, introduced his staff.The guest speaker was Mark Haveman.Mark is the author of the Lincoln LandInstitute “Impact of a Statewide land Tax”.

Kim Jensen reported for the EducationCommittee. There were 107 attendees atthe recent residential form report/case studycourse held in St. Cloud. The next issue ofEqual Eyes should be in everyone mailboxby April 1. Dakota County has recentlysettled two Kmart petitions at the assessor’svalue and has dismissed eight others. BillPeterson congratulated Tom Reineke forrecently obtaining his CAE designation.

Steve Sinell reported that the State Boardof Assessors would be meeting in Marchto work on rule changes for the residentialcase study. Larry Austin reported that thestate equalization for Region 9 will be heldTuesday, May 31. Continuing educationfor the Two-Rate Taxation Seminar that washeld March 4 qualifies for .6 BEU’s. Thefinalized LBAAE Certification and Recordforms are out. The certified members donot need to be present for 2005 meeting,but do need to be present starting with the2006 meeting. Deb Volkert would like toremind everyone to send in the Ag borderinformation as soon as possible. DakotaCounty was the first county in the state tosend in their Spring Mini Abstract.

Nancy Bye reported for the ExecutiveBoard. Minnesota is being considered forthe a possible IAAO site for the 2009conference. Rachel Freeman will onceagain chair the silent suction at SummerSeminars. Hennepin County has newsecurity measures to enter the building.They are similar to the airport security.Nancy Bye won the 50/50 drawing. Therewill be no meeting in June.

The city of Fridley hosted the Aprilmeeting. The guest speaker was Jill Brown,Public Information Specialist for theNorthstar Commuter Rail. Kim Jensenreported for the Education Committee.Summer Seminar Registration is posted on

the website. SS1 has been submitted to thestate for appraisal licensing continuingeducation.

Rebecca Malmquist reported for theEditorial Committee. She remindedeveryone to update their information on theMAAO website. The summer issue willbe electronic. Bruce Sanders reported thatthere is a proposal for a list server for webbased emailing purposes. The photos onthe website are quite old and need to becleaned up. Pictures will be taken at theFall Conference. Job posting are locatedin the membership only section. It wassuggested that these be moved so all canview the postings.

Jan Olsson reported for IAAO. The finalrelocation of headquarters is underway toKansas City. The annual conference willbe held in Anchorage, Alaska 9/18 through9/21/2005. Steve Sinell reported that 109attended the residential case exampreparation class. The State Board isdiscussing how to handle all the interviewsanticipated for the Accreditation.

Larry Austin announced the State Board ofEqualization dates. The format will differfrom previous years. The DOR would likea copy of who attended the open bookmeetings in your county and what changeswere made. The reason for the requests isto make sure we account for all districts inthe area. Leonard Peterson will post splitCommercial and Industrial and combine C/I tax court ratios on the website this year.It will be discussed at a future Sales RatioCommittee meeting how to proceed in thefuture. Jack Pasternacki announced thatJudge Perez had been reaffirmed.

Nancy Bye reported that both Minneapolisand St. Paul have submitted RFP’s to the2009 IAAO conference. IAAO will meetthe end of April to choose the finalists. Amotion was made and carried to donate$200 to the Silent Auction. A motion wasmade to donate monies for the Fallconference. The discussion was tabled toa later date.

Glen Busitzky and Sue Mauderer both haveretirement parties in April. Earl Zent hasaccepted the Commercial Supervisorposition at Hennepin County. RebeccaMalmquist won the 50/50 drawing andwalked away with $10.00.

The May meeting was hosted by HennepinCounty. The program was a tour of the LRTMaintenance facility and a ride on theHiawatha line.

Jan Olsson reported for IAAO. TheRussian Board of Assessors will betranslating the IAAO manual. Finalists forthe site selection for the IAAO conferenceare Kansas City, Louisville, and Calgary.The relocation to Kansas City is in the finalstages. The Annual conference will be 9/18 through 9/21 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Steve Sinell reported that there are nointerviews scheduled for the May StateBoard of Assessor’s meeting. Larry Austinreported for the Department of Revenue.He is still waiting for the majority ofcounties in the Region to supply a listingof their county assessor, auditor, treasurer,recorder and county board chair. He TaxCourt ratios be on the DOR website shortly.

Contact Leroy Arnoldi if you, or someoneyou know, is interested in the Vice Presidentnomination for the upcoming Region 9elections. There will be no meeting in June.The July meeting will be a joint meetingwith Region 1 and hosted by WashingtonCounty. Maple Grove will host the Augustmeeting. Bruce Sanders won the 50/50drawing.


Written by Rebecca Malmquist, SAMACity of MinnetonkaEqual Eyes Managing EditorEditorial Board Chair

As I See It

Can you believe the 2005 4th of July hascome and gone? I am sure we think thatevery year.

Looking back at Summer Seminars, we hadgreat seminars and great attendance. Wealso, as Dave mentioned in his President’sMessage, raised money for the EditorialBoard at both the silent auction and at theraffle for the print donated by Region 2.Our committee, as most of you know bynow, has purchased a new Sony, Five Megapixel camera. It is a great investment forthe organization. The camera has takensome great photos and is both very easy touse and storage is practical and easy. Theother great aspect of this purchase was itwas on sale! What a deal! I can not takecredit for the timing however, after theExecutive Board approved the purchase Iwent to purchase the camera and found thatit was on sale.

Speaking of money, I am working on theEditorial Board Budget for the 2005-2006year. Having said this, it is important toknow how much value the members placeon receiving Equal Eyes. Is Equal Eyesserving the membership in the way youthink it should? What did you think ofreceiving this issue in an electronic formatonly? What would you like to see ourcommittee change? Would you like to seemore local news, more technical articles,etc? Would you like to see more regularauthors, such as the President,Commissioner, and Tax Court Chair?

First Vice President Bill Peterson has askedthe Committee Chairs to complete a surveywith questions, some of which are regardingcommittee goals and mission. While I donot know if the Editorial Board has everhad a written mission in the past, I am surewe do not have one now. We do have anunwritten mission in my opinion, and after

discussing this with the committee, theyseem to agree. The mission seems to be toserve the membership of MAAO byproviding an informative, timelypublication that contains relevantassessment information that benefits allmembers.

We will be meeting as a committee todiscuss an actual mission statement andgoals to help keep us focused as we preparefuture editions of Equal Eyes.

I can assure you that it is difficult to providean informative publication when yourreaders are unwilling to participate inproviding information to share with othermembers. Yes, I mean we can not puttogether a solid publication if we do nothave members that are willing to contribute.

I am not shy in approaching people when Ifeel that they have something to share,typically in their jurisdiction. One examplein this edition is the article by Bill Effertz,Hennepin County’s Assistant Assessor.Bill’s office hosted a Region Meeting at theFranklin Transit Station for the Metro LightRail System. I knew he had the resourcesavailable to him to produce an interesting,page-turning article that many memberswould appreciate. All Bill needed was alittle (maybe more) pressure and a personalrequest.

In the issue preceding this, Iasked my City Assessor,Richard Toy, to produce anarticle about Cloud 9, a uniquedevelopment in our City. Thisdevelopment just happens to belocated blocks from ourconference hotel this fall. Theresources for this article wereat his fingertips as well.

SO, in saying this, DO NOT be surprisedif you receive a call from myself or anothercommittee member letting you know thatwe are aware of some interestingdevelopment or issue in your county, city,or township.

Another, perhaps less time consuming wayto participate is submitting an article to “InMy Opinion.”

Anyone feeling guilty yet? That is not myintention, we just NEED articles. You havetwo months before the next issue deadline.

We are also AGAIN looking for anothercommittee member. This is a great way toserve MAAO. You do not need to have apassion for writing, just a desire toparticipate and serve.

On a personal note, as I have written beforethat my brother is serving in the ArmyNational Guard stationed in Iraq. He is dueto leave next week for his R and R. Welook forward to having our 14 days withhim, before he returns.

This is a photo of my brother, Spc. MitchellAnderson with one of the many children

they have interaction with .


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