Some Kansas legislators opposed property tax assessment limits because they believe there is nothing wrong with appraisals—even House Speaker Dan Hawkins said, “property appraisals are correct“—but Board of Tax Appeals (BOTA) resolutions reveal a massive problem.
Data we received from an Open Records request show that 87% of appeals over the last six years were granted or partially resolved in taxpayers’ favor. That’s a stunning rebuke of the accuracy of the property appraisal system, and it reflects the avalanche of anecdotal information shared with legislators by their constituents.
We examined the disposition of more than 6,000 appeals to the regular division of BOTA that contained county and final property values. Only 13% were denied, 2% were fully granted, and 10% were partially granted. The other 75% were labeled “stipulated,” meaning the county and taxpayer agreed to a smaller appraised value just before the appeal was considered by BOTA.
“Stipulated” often means the county was playing a game of chicken with the taxpayer. Counties have no meaningful out-of-pocket costs for a case going to BOTA, but taxpayers often spend thousands on attorneys and private appraisals to prepare their case. Taxpayers tell us that counties reject local appeals and allow cases to proceed to BOTA, forcing taxpayers to spend more money preparing for trial. At the last minute, counties offer to settle because they know they will at least be partially overruled by BOTA.
Johnson County and Sedgwick County have the worst record on appeals
A surprising number of legislators from Johnson and Sedgwick County most often voted against property tax relief this year, despite those counties having the worst track record among the state’s largest counties. They have higher stipulation levels (83% and 85%, respectively) than the state average of 75%, and they have lower denial rates (8% and 10%, respectively) than the state average of 13%.
They also have something else in common: their county appraisers aren’t Certified Residential Real Property Appraisers, meaning they are not licensed to appraise one- to four-unit residential properties, regardless of value or complexity. A licensed residential appraiser can appraise one-to-four (non-complex) residential units with a transactional value less than $1 million, and one-to-four (complex) residential units with a transactional value less than $400,000. They are also not Certified General Real Property Appraisers who can appraise individual commercial properties.
Johnson County Appraiser Carolyn Logan is a Registered Mass Appraiser (RMA). Sedgwick County Appraiser Deanna Aspedon is also an RMA; her AAS designation deals with property tax administration. An RMA is qualified to perform computer-generated mass appraisals, but not to appraise individual residential or commercial properties.
In other words, Johnson County and Sedgwick County (and, for that matter, most Kansas counties) hire appraisers to value your property who aren’t qualified to appraise your property for your bank.
Yet some legislators contend that there is nothing wrong with the property appraisal system.
