Summer Seminars 2014
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Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers 2013 Summer Seminars
May 21 - 22, 2014 - Holiday Inn St. Cloud

The 2014 Summer Seminars are offering 13 topical seminars for assessors.  The registration fees are:

Register on or before April 25, 2014 and receive an early registration discount:
MAAO Member $160.00    Non-Member $235.00

Register after April 25, 2014:
MAAO Member $180.00    Non-Member $255.00

To become a MAAO member and receive the preferred registration fee, contact Membership.  The registration fee includes materials, refreshment breaks, Wednesday lunch, Wednesday dinner at The Grands at Mulligans and Thursday breakfast buffet.

President Marv Anderson will open the event with greetings and announcements at 9:30 am on Wednesday. 

The Minnesota Department of Revenue staff will speak from 9:45 to 11:45 am on Wednesday, May 21, 2014.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 21, 2014
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm Social Hour
7:00 pm Dinner
10:00 pm Close

EDUCATION SEMINARS:
Carefully Choose one 8-hour seminar or two 4-hour seminars.

SS2 - MN RESIDENTIAL FORM REPORT

4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: Teresa Mitchell, SAMA, CAE, Dakota County Assessor and Kyle Holmes, SAMA, Carlton County Deputy Assessor: This seminar will assist individuals in writing a residential demonstration form report. The student will be provided the most complete and up to date checklist for the candidates to refer to as they write their report. The student reference manual will provide step-by-step instructions for writing the report and will include many examples to help them successfully complete their report. CLASS LIMIT 50 - CLASS FILLED

SS3 – RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION - FROM MEASURING TO DESCRIBING

4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: Erik Skogquist, SAMA, Contract Assessor and Stephen Behrenbrinker, SAMA, CAE, Contract Assessor: This seminar is designed to be both demonstrative and hands on: to instruct basic residential construction terminology and descriptions, basic house plan reading and how to calculate square footages, including gross living area and all other areas of the gross building area. The instructors will also share their tips for making accurate measurements in the field. This is a hands on workshop with sample house plans and graph paper for sketching, so BRING A CALCULATOR. 

SS4 – AG 101 – INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURAL ASSESSMENT
4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: Doug Bruns, SAMA, Renville County, Mike Dangers, SAMA, Aitkin County, Mark Koehn, CMA, Stearns County, Sue Shulz, SAMA, McLeod County, and Ron Vikre, CMA, Fillmore County: This seminar will provide an introduction to the assessment of agricultural property. Topics to be covered include: assessor verification of agricultural use, classification of 2a/2b acreage, agricultural homestead, programs associated with the agricultural classification, agricultural buildings, Crop Productivity Index, irrigation/drain tiling, and border values. Participants will be provided resources and samples to assist them in the determination of the agricultural classification. REPEAT SEMINAR OFFERED ON THURSDAY.

SS5 -  INCOME CAPITALIZATION USING A GRM AND A DIRECT CAP RATE

4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructor: Rich Dubay, SRPA, SRA, Appraisal Consultants: This seminar is geared toward the residential appraiser. It will help the appraiser assess the benefit of the gross rent multiplier and direct cap rate by describing the difference between the two techniques which should help you decide when their use is appropriate. Characteristics of a rent based on gross or net will be discussed, as well as, the relevant characteristics of a rental contract. This will be an interactive seminar with some problem solving including developing a rate and a multiplier plus a case study using both direct capitalization and gross rent multiplier. At the end of this seminar the residential appraiser should be able to construct a logical system for reporting the results of a simple income approach. BRING A CALCULATOR.

SS6 - SALES VERIFICATION: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “BAD” SALE
4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: Michael Thompson, SAMA, Scott County Assessor; Amy Rausch, SAMA, MN DOR, and Sales Ratio Committee Members: This will be a comprehensive sales verification seminar which will include discussion about the MN DOR directive for assessors to verify and document all CIA sales and sales involving extreme ratios plus how assessors can ensure compliance. Additional topics of discussion will include some common questions such as; when it’s appropriate to utilize reject codes, what is “sales chasing”, what is considered personal property, what is tangible vs. intangible and what types of adjustments should be made to sales prices, including new construction, business licenses, “goodwill”, etc. We will also review sales verification procedures found in various assessing offices.

SS7 - THE VALUATION OF APARTMENT PROPERTIES

4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: Dan Blonigen, SAMA, City of Bloomington, and Tim Klein, Diversified Real Estate Services, Inc.: This seminar will introduce participants to the concepts and issues involved in apartment valuation. Topics covered include: apartment classification; the inspection process; sales verification; application of the income approach; and mass appraisal methodology. The seminar concludes with a case study problem. PLEASE BRING A CALCULATOR.

SS8 - EXEMPTION 101 – START TO FINISH

4 hrs, Wednesday, Instructors: LuAnn Hagen, CMA, Hennepin County and Nancy Wojcik, SAMA, Hennepin County: Welcome to Exemption 101! The seminar will begin at the beginning – you receive an application for exemption -- now what do you do? We’ll review the investigation from start to finish with a focus on the statutory requirements and documentation needed for granting all types of exemptions. Side topics will include payment in lieu of tax for public entities, retention requirements, and mixed use situations. Consistency in the process is key!

SS9 – MN RESIDENTIAL FORM REPORT – HANDS ON

4 hrs, Thursday, Instructors: Form Report Instructors and Graders: This workshop will be a hands-on experience where candidates can bring their form reports, all of their data, and have four uninterrupted hours to work on their report. Form Report Instructors and Graders will be on hand to help with any questions or stumbling blocks you may encounter. Please be prepared to work on your report. Bring more data than you think you need so you will have ample information and comparable sales to make suggested adjustments and changes. DON’T FORGET YOUR LAPTOP AND CALCULATOR. CLASS LIMIT 28

SS10 - BUSINESS WRITING FOR ASSESSORS

4 hrs, Thursday, Instructor: John Gellatly, Retired City of Duluth Assessor: We’ll begin with an analysis of concepts that assessors must attempt to explain to taxpayers and the value of written messages to that attempt. This is followed by instructions in building the foundation of lucid writing to successfully establish the writer’s meaning in the mind of the reader: choice of words, sentence structure, organization of the message, and presentation. Examples related to the assessment field and other occupations are offered as well as sample outlines and letters dealing with assessment administration issues 

SS11 - LIVING ON THE LAKE 4 hrs, Thursday, Instructors: Amy Rausch, SAMA; Andrea Fish, CMA, and Jessi Glancey, MN Department of Revenue: This seminar will focus on the concepts related to the assessment of lakeshore properties. We will take a close look at a variety of lakeshore and seasonal classifications including 1(c) Ma & Pa Resorts, 4c(1) Seasonal Residential Recreational Commercial, 4c(10) Seasonal Restaurant on a Lake, 4c(11) Marina, and 4c(12) Seasonal Residential Recreational Non – Commercial. This seminar will include multiple lakeshore case studies, discussion on application requirements and documentation, as well as a variety of hands-on activities to help determine whether a questionable property would qualify for a lakeshore or seasonal classification.  CLASS LIMIT 70

4 hrs, Thursday, Instructors: Marci Moreland, SAMA, Carlton County Assessor and Kelly Schroeder, SAMA, Pine County Land Services Director: This seminar will help you prepare for the disaster before it happens. We will review the reasons for a disaster reassessment, preparing and executing a disaster reassessment and understanding the role of the assessor during a disaster. There will also be discussion on differing techniques used in a disaster response, including using technologies if they are available. Many examples and real world exercises for flood and tornado damage will be included.  CLASS LIMIT 30

SS13 – AG 101 – INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURAL ASSESSMENT

4 hrs, Thursday, Instructors: Doug Bruns, SAMA, Renville County, Mike Dangers, SAMA, Aitkin County, Mark Koehn, CMA, Stearns County, Sue Shulz, SAMA, McLeod County, and Ron Vikre, CMA, Fillmore County: This seminar will provide an introduction to the assessment of agricultural property. Topics to be covered include: assessor verification of agricultural use, classification of 2a/2b acreage, agricultural homestead, programs associated with the agricultural classification, agricultural buildings, Crop Productivity Index, irrigation/drain tiling, and border values. Participants will be provided resources and samples to assist them in the determination of the agricultural classification. REPEAT SEMINAR OFFERED ON WEDNESDAY.  CLASS LIMIT 76 - COURSE FILLED

SS14 - IT’S A MOBILE WORLD

4 hrs, Thursday, Instructors: Markus Yager, CMA, Stearns County Appraiser, and MAAO CAMA/GIS Committee Members: With today’s overburdened and short staffed offices we need to find new ways to be more efficient. Get mobile and live in the “Cloud” - that’s right; store your data electronically in a cloud so it can be accessed from anywhere, at your desk, at home, or even in the field. This seminar will show you how to store data in a Cloud, how electronically you can do splits, transfers, plats, field cards, and change sheets, and avoid abatements along the way. Next, access that data with a mobile device. Markus Yager will demonstrate how Mobile Devices have changed the way Stearns County is doing their field inspections at virtually no upfront cost to the County. In addition, with many counties switching from CER to CPI soil grading we will demonstrate how it’s simple to calculate CPI by joining data layers in ArcMap to save you valuable time with calculations. Come prepared to have your minds expanded!