Valdez City Council Board of Equalization Training - May 14, 2026
Valdez City Council Board of Equalization Training - May 14, 2026
The Valdez City Council, sitting as the Board of Equalization, received annual training on May 14, 2026, conducted by Jake from the State Assessment Review Board. The session began at 5:00 PM and lasted approximately one hour, preparing council members for the upcoming property tax assessment appeals hearings scheduled for that evening and the following day. The training focused on legal procedures, the role of the board, and best practices for making decisions based on evidence.
Training Overview
- Jake led the training, emphasizing that the council acts in a quasi-judicial capacity when hearing appeals.
- The training is held annually before the Board of Equalization hearings.
- This year's appeal docket is limited, with few appeals filed.
Assessment Process and Appeal Procedures
- Assessments are conducted annually using mass appraisal techniques to ensure uniformity across properties.
- The assessor (Mike and Martins) applies the same methodology to all properties.
- The appeal process allows for recesses to facilitate resolution between the assessor and appellant before a board decision.
- If an appellant is absent, their case is moved to the end of the line; if still absent, the board may proceed based on written submissions and assessor testimony.
- The appellant bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence, needing to show the assessment is unequal, excessive, improper, or undervalued.
Role of the Board of Equalization
- The board acts as a judge, reviewing the assessor's work, not performing a new appraisal.
- Decisions must be based solely on evidence presented during the hearing (written submissions and sworn testimony).
- Ex parte communications about appeals are prohibited.
- Deliberations should occur on the record whenever possible to build a clear record for potential judicial review.
- The board may ask questions to clarify evidence but must not rely on personal knowledge of properties.
Legal Standards and Examples
- Terms defined: Unequal (disparate treatment by methodology), Excessive (overvaluation), Improper (incorrect methodology), Undervalued (undervaluation requiring adjustment).
- Case law examples were provided: a decision stating only “appellant has not presented sufficient evidence” was overturned for lack of explanation. A sufficient decision discusses significant issues and demonstrates the basis for the conclusion.
- The board was encouraged to round any adjusted valuations to the nearest $100 for administrative ease.
Key Do's and Don'ts
- Do: Be courteous, attentive, and base decisions only on evidence presented. Discuss the weight given to issues. Make a clear record with findings of fact.
- Don't: Offer small deductions out of sympathy, use personal comparables, expect a full narrative from the assessor, re-appraise the property, or rely on unsupported assertions.
- Disasters or significant condition changes occurring before the lien date (January 1) are valid grounds for adjustment.
Q&A Session
- Councilmember Lester asked how to frame a motion when upholding the assessor's valuation. Jake advised using language from a guidelines document: “Move to uphold the assessment because the appellant has failed to meet their burden,” and explaining why the evidence was not convincing.
- Another question addressed how to handle evidence presented in a different appeal that might bear on the current one. Jake stated each case should be treated separately, like separate court cases.
- It was clarified that appellants may bring additional evidence to the hearing even if not submitted in advance.
Summary
- The training concluded with a reminder that the board's role is to determine value based on the evidence, making adjustments only when the appellant meets the burden of proof.
- The board was encouraged to make the best possible record to withstand any subsequent appeals.
No formal decisions or votes were taken during the training session.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we'll go ahead and get started. Jake, uh, go ahead and lead us through this uh board of equalization training. All right. Well, I think everyone's been through this uh at least once before, so um we'll try to keep it as efficient as possible today, but annually in advance of the board of equalization hearings, we go through a training with council because you sit as the board of equalization. Um I have the pleasure today of coming from the state assessment review board to this meeting. So all kinds of um property tax appeals going on. But uh Mason, if you could go to the next slide, we'll run through what we're gonna talk about. So these are just the basics, right? And the overall purpose of you sitting as the board of equalization is to get to the right answer. Luckily, we have uh Mike and Martin's that do a great job, and it looks like there's a pretty limited amount of appeals this year. Um they're applying the same appraisal methodologies they have in the past. Um so your task shouldn't be too tough uh over the next couple evenings, but listen to the case presented. Um think of yourself uh like a judge, right? You're gonna listen to the evidence presented to you and make a decision based upon that, and when you're making your decision, uh whether it's to uphold the assessor's valuation or to make a change to it, just put on the record why you're doing that. You know, did you were you presented with some comparable sales evidence that was more persuasive? Um why are you making the decision that you're making? Next slide, please. What we'll go through is how the assessment process works in general, what's the appeal process, what is your role as the board of equalization, how should you decide an appeal, and how do we make a record, and then we'll sum it up with some BOE do's and don'ts. Next slide. Okay, so the assessment process is an annual process, um, establishing the full and true value of property within the city's jurisdiction. The goal is to be uniform. Uh the city's appraiser uses mass appraisal techniques. Uh they're supposed to and do apply the same methodology to appraise um or assess every piece of property in Val D's. Um, so there's uniformity in the manner of assessments. And uh our assessor generally considers market data and they uniformly apply that data to each part to each property to derive an assessment value. Next slide. Okay. Well ordinarily we do this well in advance of the BOE hearing. Tonight we're doing it immediately before the appeals that have been properly filed and not resolved or scheduled over the next two days. Um there's still time to resolve them though. And um what we've done in the past and and more so in recent history is that if the assessor and the appellant want to have a little break and talk about it, see if they can resolve it even at the hearing, the board has been willing to take a recess to allow them to do that, and I encourage that practice to the extent that the parties can come together and resolve it in advance of the board of equalization rendering a decision. I think that's preferable. Next slide. Okay, so the hearing, we have an order for how the appeals are going to be taken up. It's in the agenda for the next two evenings. Uh the council's practice and now embedded in code is that if someone isn't there when their appeal is called, it'll be moved to the end of the line. And then when you get through the rest of them, you'll take up the ones that have been moved to the end. If the appellant hasn't arrived by then, council can proceed with the appeal in the absence of the appellant and render a decision on the record that's before you with the written submissions and uh the assessor's testimony. Um the evidence rules are informal, right? It's basically an administrative hearing process, so we're not gonna act like lawyers in court. Um the appellant bears the burden of proof. So they need to prove to you that the assessor um that the assessor's valuation was uh wrong. Next slide, please. Okay, this is the process. Um you should have a cheat sheet that the clerk's office usually prepares uh for the chair for you, Mayor Fleming that'll set forth exactly what's on this slide. So I don't know if you if you have that in the room with you. Yes, we do. Okay, great. I won't belabor the point. This is the process for how the hearings are conducted.
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