In Property Tax Crisis, Statewide Assessments

A group formed by Governor Jeanne Shaheen recently met, to discuss ways to comply with the court ruling, without hiring a team of assessors to conduct a full-scale reevaluation of every property in the state. Revenue commissioner Stan Arnold chairs the group, and outside the meeting, told reporters if the state could comply with the ruling by incorporating valuation information gathered by local officials, he thought the cost could be manageable.
I think we?re talking in administrative cost probably in the millions, but I don?t think its in the tens of millions. ?.as long as we don?t have to do a statewide revaluation, that?s the key.

Arnold says if a re- assessment of properties by state appraisers is necessary, it could total 35 million dollars, which would add significantly to the statewide property tax rate, now at $6.60 per thousand dollars of valuation.
Appraisers say that cost could actually go higher, if the court ruling means re-evaluations should be done from scratch. Annie Awbrey is with the International Association of Assessing Officers, known as I-A-A-O. Awbrey says she thinks the decision points out the lack of comparability among appraisals between communities, so a lot of work may need to be done.
10 134 I think it would be expensive. Particularly if the data in municipalities was not good. You need to do a very thorough examination of the kind of data that you have on properties. There might have to be collection of new data. That in itself might be very expensive. 11 06

Only two states, Maryland and Montana, perform statewide property assessments. Both states have been doing things this way since the 1970?s. Officials in each state department that handles the chore say they think rather than being expensive, statewide assessments actually save money. Ronald Wineholt is the director of Maryland?s Department of Assessments and Taxation. He says his department benefits from economies of scale and centralized record keeping.
15 35 ?Here in md, we have a uniform set of procedures, one set of laws applied throughout the state. We have one computer system mainframe in which some of the data is loaded. We have software that we use throughout the state on our pc local networks in our county offices, our field offices. And in some cases, we?re able to share assessors from county to county, where they not otherwise be able to afford their own full time assessor ?15 111

Wineholt says the state spends about 30 million dollars a year on assessments, which is constant, since they are rotated as part of a three year cycle. Part of the Maryland expense includes more than 500 employees, and nearly half are assessors.
In Montana, a much more rural state than Maryland, assessments are handled differently. Dolores Cooney of the Montana Revenue Department says the whole state is assessed at once in multi-year cycles, so valuation work is done by about 300 department officials, who are spread throughout the state?s 56 counties. Cooney says this massive workload is made manageable by computers.
22 45 the state of Montana has made great investment in automation appraisal valuation systems, assessment systems, in order to be able to assess. We have a lot of distance, maybe not a lot of people, but a lot of parcels. 22 103

Montana uses property tax money to help pay for public schools. In Maryland, the tax is dedicated to pay off the interest due on bonds, without exception. Both states also have a sales or income tax, or, in Maryland?s case, both.
Despite their positive experiences with a statewide assessment system, few other states have seriously considered the option. As in New Hampshire, property valuation across the nation has long been handled locally. But given the court?s finding that New Hampshire?s valuation methods are flawed, state lawmakers may have to break with tradition in order to keep the property tax.