Michigan Association of Equalization Directors Executive Board Meeting Agenda Doherty Hotel, Clare, MI September 5 th, 2014 10:00 a.m. President Doreen Dewald Iosco County Vice President Matt Woolford Kent County Secretary Nick Wheeler Hillsdale County Treasurer Donna Vandervries Muskegon County Past President Kim Halis Clare County Board of Directors Ed Vandervries Van Buren County Shila Kiander Mecosta County Walt Schlichting Tuscola County 1) Call to Order: Doreen Dewald 2) Roll Call of Officers: Nick Wheeler 3) Approval of Agenda: September 5 th, 2014 4) Previous Minutes: July 15 th, 2014 5) Correspondence: 6) Reports: a. Treasurer: Donna Vandervries Muskegon County b. Legislative: Donna Vandervries Muskegon County c. Education: Doreen Dewald Iosco County d. Standards: Matt Woolford Kent County e. Scholarships: Kimberly Halis Clare County f. MAA: Donna Vandervries Muskegon County g. STC/ACD: Kevin Keller Montmorency County h. MAC: Judy Nelson Calhoun County i. MTT: Judge Lasher Tax Tribunal 7) Ad-Hoc Committees 8) Old Business 9) New Business a. Discussion of MAED Annual Dues 10) Other Matters of Concern 11) Adjournment: The next meeting is October 3, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. in St. Ignace, MI at the Village Inn located at 250 South State St.
Michigan Association of Equalization Directors Annual General Meeting Minutes Double Tree Riverfront Hotel, Bay City, Michigan July 15 th, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. 1) Call to Order: President Kim Halis called the meeting to order at 9:08 a.m. 2) Roll Call of Board Members: Officers Present: President, Kim Halis; Vice-President, Doreen Dewald; Treasurer, Nick Wheeler; Secretary, Matt Woolford; and Past-President Mary Cornell Board Members Present: Board Member Donna Vandervries; Board Member, Board Member Ed Vandervries; Board Member Shila Kiander Attendance: A total of 37 people signed the attendance sheet. Equalization Directors representing 34 counties were present. 3) Approval of Agenda: A motion was made by Donna Vandervries to approve the agenda and seconded by Doreen Dewald. Motion carried. 4) Approval of Previous Minutes: A motion was made by Doreen Dewald and seconded by Donna Vandervries to approve the minutes. Motion carried. 5) Correspondence: There was no correspondence reported that was sent to MAED during the last month. There was one email that was sent out by Ed Vandervries regarding Comcast personal property. The issue was to alert Directors that Comcast structures and towers were being reported using non-approved depreciation schedules that deviated from State Tax Commission guidelines. Once notified, Comcast corrected the tables to match the STC multiplier numbers. Bulletins 6 and Bulletin 7 came out during the month of June.
6) Reports: a. Treasurer s Report: Nick Wheeler presented the Treasurer s Report for the period ending June 30 th, 2014. A motion to approve the report was made by Donna Vandervries and seconded by Mary Cornell. Motion carried. Nick Wheeler made a motion to amend the budget and approve payment for the registration and hotel stay of the MAED representative to the MAA conference. The current representative is Donna Vandervries. The motion carried with abstentions from Donna Vandervries and Ed Vandervries. Nick Wheeler wished to commend and thank Tom Seitters of Automated Business and David Pummill of Pummill Print Service for their hard work and sponsorship of the Golf Outing this year. Also thanks to Vicky Esch and Janice Eaton for their volunteer efforts during the event. b. Legislative Report: Donna Vandervries reported that there had not been a MAA Legislative Committee meeting during the last period as they are in recess. One pertinent item is potential changes to the MTT and the legislation that may be pending. The changes, highlighted in our June meeting, include changes to the composition and number of judges. The MAA has corresponded with the Ad Hoc committee on these changes and have put our ideas on this out there. We have done what we can. It remains to be seen when the legislature will act on these items; perhaps during lame duck. c. Education Committee Kim Halis reported that Tim Schnelle will be presenting a 4 hour STC Update tomorrow, on July 16 th, at 9:00 a.m. during the conference. It will be informative about pertinent changes over the last year. d. Standards Committee Matt Woolford presented members with a draft document titled Towards a Standard Data Model: Enabling Collaboration and Standards Based Workflows Through CAMA Configuration Guidelines. The idea is to standardize codes and setup within our Equalizer systems for such things as Property Class Codes, School Districts, Sales Codes, Terms of Sale, Instruments of Sale, Use Codes, Government Unit Codes and Unit Options, Global Calculation Options, General Settings, Building Styles, Taxable Status Codes, Report Profiles and Recommended Reports, and Recommended Annual Processes for year-round reporting. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 2 -
Standards Committee, continued. Feedback and discussion on the initiative followed citing that it will help counties give new assessors a guide to assist them with knowing what the equalization department is expecting of them in their database configuration. If we are standardized, we have a better chance to work with BSA to develop reports that cross county lines (e.g. L-4028 and L-4050) that won t be so cumbersome. These guidelines will help counties that will have retirements of their directors in the next five years and into the future. Part of the process will include having BS&A go through and work with local units and county departments to implement this voluntary standard data model. There are tools built into the software already and new wizards can be developed to migrate data from existing configuration states into the new standard model. BS&A has reviewed data from across the state and believes that this effort is very doable. Equalization Directors and Assessors are encouraged to adopt a mindset that we are managers of digital data and acknowledge we have a shared responsibility to make the data valid and useful when combined. A suggestion to make a default database that has the Standard Data Model was made and discussed. This should be easy to accomplish within BS&A, similar to the Examples database. It is important to include MAA as an active participant if we desire to have this be a joint effort and this discussion needs to be shared with the MAA Standards Committee. The ACD has agreed to be an active participant in the discussion as well. It was noted that when and if everyone was standardized, there needs to be a sustained commitment to keep the standards in place the way that the BS&A Assessing/Equalization module is written. A suggestion was made to have the standard model codified so that invalid codes and choices would be impossible to enter, keeping the database in compliance. That way you would not have a degradation of quality data going forward. Perhaps in relevant fields a keyboard entry could be replaced with a valid drop down menu choice. Parcel Numbers would not be a main focus of the standard data model effort. There is too much history tied to local PPN formats that would be impossible to address. There is a possibility that we could have a new category of identifier that could be coordinated with the Office of Technology Partnerships at the state that would allow our existing PPN s to live side by side with property addresses with a new parcel repository account number. This will have to be explored more fully; but if it were to work, it would allow a unique identifier that would assist in the creation of a state-wide parcel layer map in GIS and CAMA systems. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 3 -
Standards Committee, continued. Everett Root will be giving a presentation in this meeting on how his department is available and willing to discuss new technology partnerships and that sharing standard parcel data may be an area that will have broad appeal amongst several state agencies and administrative departments. The ACD is supportive of this effort and is willing to work with MAED and MAA on this issue. Is there any way that MAED, MAA, or both could work with the state s funding mechanism of CGAP grants because the state is trying to encourage collaborations like these at the individual government unit level? This would seem to be a good fit for this type of effort. Van Buren County was recently successful in receiving a CGAP grant award to have all local units move to.net as one group. It is unclear whether MAED or MAA could be an applicant and having individual units sign on would take significant effort to accomplish. This is an area that will be discussed at future meetings to see if there is a way to accomplish this. The State Tax Commission recently asked several counties to change their school district codes this year and there were no problems with compliance bringing this data field into a standard format. To be successful, it is very important that these guidelines need to be understood as advisory. In addition, the affiliated and regional organizations related to MAED and MAA should be provided a presentation and given the opportunity to contribute to the discussion. Going forward, MAED Standards Committee will report progress and meet after each regularly scheduled MAED Executive Board meeting this year. Working with MAA, the objective will be to present a recommended guideline at the May, 2015 meeting. In this way, we can fully engage with MAA, affiliated organizations, interested state agencies, and others to develop a comprehensive model that allows us to gather information throughout the coming assessment year. e. Scholarship Fund Committee One scholarship application for a $500 scholarship for Tammy Stewart of Cass County Equalization was presented for approval. A motion to approve the scholarship was made by Rosie McKinstry and seconded by Shila Kiander. Motion approved. f. Audit Committee Barbara Moss reported that the audit committee will be auditing the MAED books after the September 5 th, 2014 meeting. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 4 -
g. MAA A reminder to the members that the MAA Conference is being held from August 3 rd to August 6 th, 2014 at The Inn at St. John s, Plymouth. The Inn at St. John s ~ Plymouth, Michigan ~ August 3-6, 2014 The MAA is working on their criteria for scholarships. The MAA is considering changes to their website in the near future. There was discussion regarding an upcoming personal property appeal for a generating plant in Covert Township. There was discussion and a reminder regarding travel arrangements for the upcoming IAAO conference in Sacramento. The MAA Board will be meeting today, July 15 th, at 1:00 p.m. at the MAED Conference. h. STC/ACD Essential Services Assessment Administration of the potential Essential Services Assessment is being planned and the ACD is reviewing staffing needs to process these components if Proposal 1 passes in August. Everything will hinge on the August 5 th election. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 5 -
ACD Staffing Update The ACD has received permission to hire a couple of new employees. There is also a plan to address the vacancy created by Larry Griggs retirement; the final details are being worked out and will be announced soon. In the interim, anyone who needs to address problems in Larry s former counties is encouraged to call David Buick. Mark Pierpont has announced his retirement. His district is in the western Upper Peninsula. There has been an effort to consolidate a state spreadsheet used by the ACD. The next iteration will be to include the ACD spreadsheet onto a cloud service, with enhanced analyses and the ability to standardize across the districts quickly and efficiently. The ACD fully supports the efforts to develop recommended configuration guidelines and standards and will be participating in MAED efforts into the coming year. i. MAC No report. j. MTT The MTT has a new docketing system. Discussion on how the searches are performed and the learning curve of using the system followed. There was a question of whether RPS s submitted would be scanned because they should not be. Judge Lasher s visit to the June 6 th, 2014 MAED meeting was discussed. It was refreshing to see the MTT take an active interest in MAED and to hear his intention of returning over the next several months. 7) Ad-Hoc Committees Salary Survey Ed Vandervries has compiled the results from several counties. Additional counties will be added as their information is submitted. A current version of the salary survey will be continuously updated for members to have access to on demand. A suggestion to setup an organizational Dropbox account was made. The efficiency of distributing information between and amongst ourselves using a file share was discussed and compared with the challenges of sending things out by email. Directors are reminded to please let Doug Stover know of any changes in director positions so he can update the contact information on the web site. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 6 -
8) Old Business None 9) New Business Presentation by Everett Root, State of Michigan Office of Technology Partnerships. The State of Michigan Office of Technology Partnerships is looking for ways to bring the benefits of GIS and enterprise data to existing state departments, agencies, and external partners. As part of their outreach efforts, they are visiting MAED and similar organizations to help define how shared data can benefit everyone. Some examples of collaboration are the MiSail Program, which organizes a state-wide annual aerial photo program, a State-Wide 911 GIS repository, Census Bureau coordination, voter precinct mapper, etc. The Office of Technology Partnerships is very interested in working with MAED and MAA into the future to establish and maintain a bi-directional flow of information. There are multiple state agencies who can benefit from our parcel related information, including the Department of Transportation, DEQ, etc. There is a Statewide GIS Users Group that holds meetings on the first Thursday of even numbered months (February, April, June, August, October, and December). The meetings are split into morning and afternoon sessions, with participation welcome at either session or all day. Conference call dial-in is available for these meetings and video-conferencing abilities are coming soon. Additional information can be found at the following web address: http://www.michigan.gov/cgi/0,4548,7-158-52927_53037_12761_15235---,00.html. Everett encourages equalization directors to attend this meeting to add their insights and utilization of GIS in their departments. Everett and his staff are actively involved in the Michigan Communities Association of Mapping Professionals (MICAMP), Improving Michigan s Access to Geographic Information Networks (IMAGIN), and are looking for ways to enhance access to geographic information throughout state agencies. The Office of Technology Partnerships would be interested in working with MAED to gather parcel level geography and attributes, structure points and attributes, and will be happy to participate in discussions on a standardized CAMA model for Michigan. If you are interested in learning more about the Office of Technology Partnerships, the link to their web site is: http://www.michigan.gov/cgi/0,4548,7-158-53021---,00.html MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 7 -
New Business, continued Thank You President Halis thanked David Buick for attending MAED meetings each month and contributing his time and input regularly to the MAED. President Halis thanked Peggy Pirhonen for all of her hard work in helping with the conference this year and also thanked all the vendors who contributed to make the conference a success. Election of Officers 2014/2015 Mary Cornell, Past President presented the slate of officers for the 2014/2015 year. President Doreen Dewald Iosco County Vice President Matt Woolford Kent County Secretary Nick Wheeler Hillsdale County Treasurer Donna Vandervries Muskegon County Board Member Ed Vandervries Van Buren County Board Member Shila Kiander Mecosta County Board Member Walt Schlichting Tuscola County Doug Stover moved and Lynette Girard seconded to close nominations and vote for the slate of officers as presented. Motion carried. 10) Other Matter of Concern Resolution and Comments Doreen Dewald presented President Kim Halis with a resolution thanking her for her service as President during this past year. A plaque containing the resolution was presented to President Halis and the whole membership joined in a round of applause in appreciation for her service to the MAED Executive Board. President Halis commented that she hoped everyone had enjoyed the conference thus far and expressed her appreciation and honor to serve as President. She commented that she has learned a lot during her service to the Board and is thankful to everyone she has worked with during her tenure as President. Class Announcements August 14 th, Muskegon County, Highest and Best Use. Instructor: David Rice August 21 st, Gaines Township (Kent County), IAAO Reviewing and Analyzing Leases Instructors: Roger McCarty, Debby Ring MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 8 -
Other Matters of Concern, continued. IAAO Marty Marshall reminded everyone about the IAAO Conference coming up in Sacramento, California, from August 24 th -August 27 th. MAED members are encouraged to vote in the upcoming IAAO Elections. Roger McCarty, Assessor for Cascade Township, will be a candidate for the IAAO Board. IAAO Conference 2015 Charter Bus Discussion followed on reserving a charter bus to reduce transportation costs and increase transportation fun for the IAAO 81 st Annual Conference. 2015 is the year Marty Marshall is President. The idea will be to see what it will cost to secure a charter bus that will take 50 or so individuals to Indianapolis, Indiana in September 2015 to show support from the State of Michigan. 11) Adjournment The next meeting of the Executive Board of the Michigan Association of Equalization Directors will be held at the Doherty Hotel, Clare, Michigan on September 5 th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. The motion to adjourn by Shila Kiander was seconded by Donna Vandervries and was unanimously approved. The meeting adjourned at 11:40 p.m. MAED Annual Meeting Minutes, Page - 9 -
MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF EQUALIZATION DIRECTORS Treasurer's Report July 1, 2014 to August 31, 2014 TO: EXECUTIVE BOARD FROM: Nicolas L. Wheeler, Treasurer Beginning Balance for MAED General Fund July 1, 2014 $ 32,629.38 (Acct) Income for Period 450 Conference Revenue Sub totals 2014 Conference Registration $ 575.00 451 Golf Outing 2014 Conference Golf Outing $ 330.00 Total Income for Period $ 905.00 Adjusted Balance $ 33,534.38 Expenses for Period 100 Scholarship Date Check # Amount Tami Stewart - Cass (MCAO Program) 7/21/2014 1472 $ 500.00 200 Michigan Assessors Association MAA Conference Registration (Donna) 7/8/2014 1468 $ 200.00 Inn at St. Johns (MAA Conf Hotel - Donna) 7/21/2014 1473 $ 464.10 800 Conference Expense David Rice (6-Hour Renewal) 7/14/2014 1471 $ 900.00 Doubletree by Hilton (2014 Conference) 8/1/2014 1474 $ 8,773.95 Arenac County (Conference Overpay) 8/26/2014 1475 $ 100.00 Newaygo County (Conference Overpay) 8/26/2014 1476 $ 75.00 Ottawa County (Conference Overpay) 8/26/2014 1477 $ 100.00 801 Conference Golf Expense Bay Valley Golf Course (Green Fees) 7/13/2014 1469 $ 700.00 Bay Valley Resort (Golf Outing Lunch) 7/13/2014 1470 $ 251.86 Tom Seitters (Golf Prizes) 8/26/2014 1478 $ 236.10 Total Expenses $ 12,301.01 Ending Balance for MAED General Fund August 31, 2014 $ 21,233.37 Respectfully submitted, Nicolas L. Wheeler, Treasurer Budget Recap 2013/2014 Month to Year to Date Year to Date Remaining % remaining Revenue Budgeted Date August 2014 August 2013 Budget Balance to Date 150 Dues 3,500.00 0.00 3,400.00 3,600.00 100.00 2.86% * 250 Misc Revenue 3,250.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3,250.00 100.00% 450 Conference Revenue 8,000.00 575.00 8,482.50 1,365.00-482.50 N/A 451 Golf Outing 1,560.00 330.00 1,205.00 0.00 355.00 22.76% Total Revenue 16,310.00 905.00 13,087.50 4,965.00 3,222.50 19.76% Expenses 100 Scholarship 7,250.00 500.00 1,650.00 1,400.00 5,600.00 77.24% ** 200 MAA 2,264.10 664.10 2,064.10 3,375.00 200.00 8.83% 300 MAC 200.00 0.00 0.00 400.00 200.00 100.00% 400 Printing & Binding 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A 500 Postage 25.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 25.00 100.00% 600 Monthly Meetings 3,600.00 0.00 3,221.61 4,058.43 378.39 10.51% 700 Miscellaneous 275.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 275.00 100.00% 800 Conference Expense 2,000.00 9,948.95 11,448.95 152.90-9,448.95 N/A 801 Golf expense 1,560.00 1,187.96 1,187.96 0.00 372.04 23.85% 900 Software 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A Total Expenses 17,174.10 12,301.01 19,572.62 9,386.33-2,398.52-13.97% * Carry over of unspent scholarship funds ** Amdended from $1,400 at Feb 2014 meeting & Annual meeting for Conference Attendance
MAED/MAA Joint Standards Meeting When: Tuesday, August 12th, 2014, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Where: State of Michigan, 430 W. Allegan Street, Local Government Conference Room, 2nd Floor Lansing, MI 48922 AGENDA 1) Discussion on Standards Initiatives i) Federal, State, Local ii) IAAO Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) Data Standards iii) ArcGIS Local Government Information Model (LGIM) 2) Discuss development of Michigan based CAMA/GIS Configuration Guidelines a) CAMA i) Develop BS&A Configuration Guidelines (1) One State, One Recommended Configuration (a) Identify core data fields to include in CAMA Configuration Guidelines. (Refer to Towards a Standard Data Model: Enabling Collaboration and Standards Based Workflows through CAMA Configuration Guidelines ) (i) Property Class Codes, School Codes, Sales Codes, Terms of Sale, Instruments of Sale, Use Codes, Government Unit Codes, Global Calculation Options, Calculation Options, General Settings, Government Unit Options, Residential Building Styles, Residential Building Class, Taxable Status Codes, Recommended Reports (b) Seek input from MAA Affiliated Organizations on core data fields (c) Finalize data fields to be included in final document (2) Convert standard model fields into drop down choices; remove free text entry from all fields included in the model. (i) Create standard model conversion utility (ii) Organize conversion work sessions by county (iii) Assist all units who voluntarily comply with new guidelines ii) Other CAMA vendors b) GIS i) ESRI Local Government Information Model (LGIM) (1) Create linkage between CAMA data fields and LGIM data fields (a) Identify common fields (b) Seek input from MiCAMP, IMAGIN, Office of Technology Partnerships, Department of Treasury. (c) Finalize common fields ii) Encourage CAMA/GIS Partnerships between State, County, Local Governments (1) Discuss creation of Parcel Number Repository to enable statewide parcel maps (2) Community Parcels Contributor Model (ESRI) (3) Other ideas 3) Next Steps a) Refine scope from today s meeting b) Action items c) Future Meetings
Tax Appeals Bill Package Michigan Tax Tribunal Act (Request 5523 14) Michigan Tax Tribunal Act Bills The Governor will appoint members to the tax commission at the pleasure of the Governor, with advice and consent from the legislature. The Governor will be permitted to remove members he/she appointed for any reason. Members not appointed by the sitting Governor can be removed in accordance with Article 5, Section 10 of the Constitution Allow the MTT to have up to 7 members (205.721) Allow the MTT to contract with assessors when needed No filing fee for poverty exemption appeals (205.749(2)) Increase the small claims division threshold from $100,000 state equalized value cap to $150,000 and index to inflation (205.762(1) MTT has provided suggested language) Allow the Michigan tax Tribunal to deny a request for a subpoena (205.736(1) MTT has provided suggested language) Require rulings by hearing judges at the Michigan Tax Tribunal to be binding for the purpose of other tribunal judge rulings Require that MTT members be trained in courtroom procedures annually. Change date to appeal BOR rulings to the Michigan Tax Tribunal to July 31. The current date to appeal the decision of the BOR is May 31. (Request 5524 14) General Property Tax Act Bills Poverty Exemptions (Request 5525 14 and 5525 14a) Change the dates to appeal BOR rulings to the Michigan Tax Tribunal to July 31 or 60 days after the July or December BOR. Disabled Veteran s Exemption (Request 5526 14 and 5526 14a) Clarifies that appeals can go to the March, July or December BOR Appeals of BOR decision must happen by July 31 or 60 days after July or December BOR Appeals of BOR decisions are to the Michigan Tax Tribunal Appeals of MTT decisions are to the Michigan Court of Appeals Must file appeal of MTT decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals within 21 days
All appeals are for current year and previous 3 but only back to enactment of current disabled veteran s exemption. (ex. Tax year 2015 appeal could be for current year (2015) and 2 previous year (2014, 2013)). Omitted or Incorrectly Reported Property (5527 14 and 5527 14a) Clarifies that an appeal of a State Tax Commission ruling can be done by the assessor or the taxpayer Requires appeal of State Tax Commission ruling to happen within 60 days (35 days currently) Allows for appeals for the current year and previous 3 Qualified Errors (5528 14 and 5528 14a) Appeals go to the STC instead of the BOR No deadline for appealing a qualified error to the STC 60 days to appeal the decision of the STC to the MTT (currently 35 days) All appeals are for current year and previous 3 Qualified Agricultural Exemptions (5529 14 and 5529 14a) Appeals go directly to the MTT (currently go to the BOR before the MTT) 35 days from denial of exemption to appeal to MTT 21 days to appeal decision of MTT to the Michigan Court of Appeals Board of Review Evidence (5530 14) Allow BOR to review evidence through 12/31 (211.29(3)) Assessor Role at Board of Review (5531 14) Clarify that the assessor shall only provide information to the BOR if information is requested and that the assessor has no vote at the BOR (211.28/29/30?) Assessor Contact Information (5532 14) Require the assessment notice to include the assessor s phone number and a statement about an option to meet with the assessor prior to the BOR (211.10f(3)) Principal Residence Exemption (5391 14 and 5391 14a) Create 1 process for appealing PRE denials: a. Assessor denied PRE b. Count Treasurer denied PRE c. MI Dept. of Treasury denied PRE
d. Closing statement preparer fails to offer PRE affidavit or file affidavit if requested e. PRE exemption not on the tax roll (211.7cc(19)) Allows 35 days from denial to appeal to the MTT Property Classification (5392 14 and 5392 14a) Remove the circuit court from the property tax classification appeals process (211.34c(6)) Allow appeals at the March BOR (this is current law) Appeal of BOR decision to the STC must happen by July 31 (current 6/30 deadline) 60 days to appeal STC ruling to the MTT (current 21 days) All appeals are for current year and previous 3 Allow a taxpayer or the assessor to appeal a property classification issue to the Board of Review Allow a taxpayer or the assessor to appeal ruling of the BOR to the State Tax Commission under any circumstance (currently the assessor can only appeal if the taxpayer has taken an issue to the BOR but cannot appeal if the taxpayer did not take the issue to the BOR) Pay to Play (5533 14) Revenue Act Bills Eliminate prepayment of tax, penalty, and interest requirement as a jurisdictional prerequisite to fling a case regarding the assessment of tax in the Michigan Court of Claims.