By GREG ADLER
It is time to voice support for property tax fairness by encouraging passage of Senate Bill 242, a bill introduced by Sen. Jesse Kiehl. This bill aims to restore public trust in Alaska’s property assessment process. Bipartisan support for Kiehl’s bill is demonstrated by Rep. Julie Coulumbe, who introduced House Bill 347, a bill that is identical to Kiehl’s.
These bills maintain local flexibility and control while requiring baseline standards to establish transparency and a fair property assessment process. Make sure your senator and representative are aware of the Property Tax Fairness bills and ask for their support.
State law requires property to be assessed at its full and true value.
Unfortunately, a property owner’s right to just and fair hearings with impartial decisions is not protected by laws as they stand. Local assessors are not required to maintain professional credentials or follow published standards. Current law also allows assessment increases upon appeal, which has the chilling effect of discouraging taxpayers from exercising their rights out of fear of retaliation.
A property I appealed was assessed at more than double what I paid for it one month after closing escrow due to a combination of failures in the current law. The City and Borough of Juneau assessor justified the wacky assessed value by using a wacky software model that cherry picked the data.
The CBJ assessor written report also plagiarized data from a property that was not comparable to argue our property was not a market sale because it took 60 days to market and should have taken 9 months. Clearly, low sales prices lower the whacky software model and the CBJ assessor is hot on the tail of such properties in the backroom tinkering with such sales and slipping them into the outlier category when in fact they are the market.
Licensed appraisers and certified assessors know two things: 1) Use good comps and 2) Presenting the Board of Equalization with inaccurate statements not only taints the board in your favor, is unfair to Appellants but is patently against professional ethics.
There is no denying our sale was an arms-length transaction at its full and true market value, and our MAI appraisals honestly represented the full and true value of our properties. We conclude the CBJ assessor is entrenched in pursuing inflated assessed property values.
In advance of this year’s assessment, I supplied Juneau’s assessor’s office with six MAI (Member, Appraisal Institute) appraisals. They were provided to help value our property and similar properties in Juneau’s downtown district. The assessor told me he was familiar with the appraisals and the work of the appraiser and agreed they accurately reflect the value of the properties. He stated that he is also familiar with sales in the downtown district.
When I asked if we could expect our assessed values to follow the appraisals and sales, the assessor said “No.” I was astounded by this response, considering that appraisals and sales are full and true value. The Juneau assessor explained that he has wacky old software assessment models on which he relies, and the value he sets will be based on his these models. He said to expect a 7% decline, but not full and true value.
The problem is that assessed value by local and state law is based on full and true value, not a wacky software model that has proven to inflate property values. If the assessor has full knowledge that his software model results in wacky assessments, he should utilize market sales and appraisals in good faith to inform his model and modify assessed values.
Supporting wacky software models may be rational to someone who has no requirement to follow standards, but not to the homeowner, business owner, or investor.
My experience tells me the Juneau Assembly, city manager, and finance director have no interest in changing the present system. I submit that public trust in the assessor office must be restored. Moreover, these bad actors should reconsider their actions and take positive steps in support of good governance for the best interest of the community.
These issues are also occurring in other communities throughout the state. It is time to voice your support for openness and impartial hearings when it comes to property assessments.
Act now by contacting your legislators to encourage them to support SB 242 and HB 347 to establish property tax fairness in Alaska’s statutes.
Greg Adler is a principal at Goldstein Improvement Co. His family has owned property and conducted business in Juneau since the 1880s. Adler and his family own a home on Pioneer Avenue in West Juneau.
