The new solution to rising property taxes?
Hold the county appraisers accountable — at the polls.
Lawmakers on Wednesday took up a bill that would make the county appraiser an elected official. They’re now appointed by county commissions.
Republican state Rep. Jack Thimesch pitched the idea to the House tax committee, voicing concerns about how rising property values are driving up taxes.
“I’ve been here eight years, and all we talk about is property taxes” going up, Thimesch said.
“We haven’t seen the mill levy move, but our property tax still seems to increase,” he said.
He was backed up by a property owner from Kansas City, Kan., who complained about soaring property values without much recourse to fight back short of expensive litigation.
Counties have appointed appraisers in Kansas since 1977.
Once appointed, appraisers can only be removed by a county commission or the director of property valuation at the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Appraisers are appointed to a four-year term beginning in a nonelection year. The term ends in a nonelection year.
County appraisers are required to have one or more professional designations and have at least three years of mass appraisal experience.
They must also complete 120 hours of continuing education every four years.
A top state revenue official cautioned that electing county appraisers was risky and could compromise property values.
Before counties started appointing appraisers, there was a tendency to undervalue properties, said Roger Hamm, deputy director of property valuation at the Revenue Department.
“Elected county assessors were often unwilling to value their neighbor’s property at full market value,” Hamm said in written testimony to the committee.
“It is important to keep our appraisers insulated from outside influences or pressures to meet the constitutional requirement that Kansas property be taxed uniformly and equally according to its fair market value,” he said.
Lawmakers on the committee expressed concerns that electing appraisers might result in unqualified appraisers.
“You may not be getting the best candidate,” said Republican state Rep. Jim Kelly.
“You may be getting the only one that’s dumb enough to run for it and then decide it’s a job and they go and get it all screwed up for four years,” he said.
Kelly also expressed concern that elected appraisers would be motivated more by getting reelected than conducting honest appraisals.
“That would be a way to drive down property values because you don’t want your job to only last four years,” he said.
Republican state Rep. Barbara Wasinger also was skeptical about moving to elected appraisers.
“I hate the thought of adding another elected official to a county,” Wasinger said.
“I think it’s easier to deal with an appraiser that’s not doing their job. You can release them from employment.”
Wasinger said a better approach might be addressing the qualifications of appraisers.
Republican Rep. Dave Baker, however, said he opposed the idea of lowering the qualifications for appraisers.
“Lowering the bar for the appraiser – I’m not sure that’s really the best idea,” Baker said.
“I hear that being bantered around like we can just make this a real-quick, run-through in nine weeks and we can get you up to speed,” he said.
“I don’t think I want them coming and appraising my assets with somebody who’s maybe not a certified appraiser.”
Thimesch questioned how much education and experience was needed to work as an appraiser.
“How much do you need to be an appraiser?” he asked.
“I don’t think there is a person sitting in this room that couldn’t be an appraiser within a year,” he said.
During Wednesday’s hearing, lawmakers pressed the Kansas County Appraisers Association about their required training and how an appraiser’s job performance is measured.
“What we’re talking about in some regards is inconsistency and unfairness,” said Republican state Rep. Tom Phillips.
“How does the Board of County Commissioners measure or determine when an appraiser is out of compliance?” he asked.
“It can’t be subjective. There has to be some kind of performance standards or evaluation done.”
Sean Robertson, vice president of the appraisers association, said the state gauges compliance based on whether the property values are in line with market values.
