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Measuring
the Effects of High-Voltage Transmission Lines
on Residential Property Values(2.5
Hours)
Tax Appeals – When trial can be avoided and when it
can’t (1.0 Hour)
Appraising in a Down Market – Lessons from Haven
Healthcare (2.5 Hours)
You Can
Continue Your Education!
Patricia G. Hedwall, CAE, CCMA II
As budgets are tightening everywhere people are asking,
"Where will I get the money for my educational requirements?" and "How can I
find funding to get my staff educated?"
One source of financing might be scholarships. Several are
available to assessors and assessment staff members and, while they will not
cover all costs, any funding can help make the ends meet.
Each scholarship has its own requirements for eligibility and
for filing. I will attempt to highlight these requirements for some of the
scholarships that are locally available in the following paragraphs:
A.C.E.S.- The Brenda Vuolo Scholarship is
available through the ACES Subcommittee.
Applicant shall be a member in good standing of ACES.
Scholarship applicants shall (at the time of the request) be
employed full-time or part-time in a Connecticut Assessor’s Office.
The course for which the scholarship is requested shall
pertain to the Assessment profession (i.e. CCMA Courses, ACES Workshops, AAT
Modules, IAAO Courses, related seminars). The requested amount shall be for the
course fees only.
Applicant shall provide a letter signed by the Assessor of
Chief Executive Officer of his or her employing municipality, stating what
portion, if any, the municipality will pay or reimburse the applicant.
The decision to grant or deny a scholarship and the amount of
the scholarship to be granted shall be at the discretion of the ACES
subcommittee and shall be decided by a majority vote of this subcommittee
CAAO Education Grants:These grants may be requested
by any member in good standing of the C.A.A.O.
Applications are available from the Professional Designations
and Awards Committee, and all decisions regarding the awards are made by that
committee.
The grants are not allowed for CCMA classes, but can be used
toward the tuition costs of assessment related classes.
In addition to the application, you must supply a letter of refusal to pay
from your municipality.
The I.A.A.O. has three trusts that award scholarships. They are as
follows:
The Jeff Hunt, CAE, Memorial Candidates Assistance Trust
grants awards for I.A.A.O. members wishing to complete their designation.
The Timothy N. Hagemann Membership Memorial Trust grants
awards for small jurisdictions (less than 7500 parcels) to a) become a member
of I.A.A.O., b) obtain educational course assistance and c) research project
assistance.
The Norman Register Trust Fund grants awards for
educational related needs to I.A.A.O. members only.
Applications for any of these grants are available from
I.A.A.O.
In addition, your county association may have grants available. For example,
New London County has the Tom Roby Scholarship. The
applicant must be a member in good standing of the N.L.A.A.O., but all other
criteria follow the C.A.A.O. guidelines.
So before you give up on education all together, check out
some of these alternatives. You may be surprised at what is available.
402:Tax Policy
This class offers students strategies for assisting in the effective
formulation and implementation of tax policies and presents background enabling
students to understand the context under which property tax policy is
established. Students will also be given analytical tools with which they can
explain the effects of proposed property tax changes. They will be provided with
a sound theoretical basis to guide decision making and to assist in creating
workable solutions for their jurisdictions.
The course consists of seven modules addressing various aspects of tax
policy. These are:
Introduction to Property Tax Policies - Policy frameworks; current
debates; role of the assessing personnel; public and private sector roles in
market based economies.
Property Tax as part of Intergovernmental Finances - Structure of
federal/state/local governments; legal and fiscal arrangements and
restrictions; funding alternatives and uses.
Principles of Taxation - Taxes as a source of public revenue; legal
limitations and issues; criteria for evaluation of tax systems; analyzing the
effects of taxes; revenue forecasting principles.
Analyzing State and Local Tax Systems - Long term data analysis;
case problems; using census data; other sources of information.
The Role and Attributes of Various State and Local Taxes - Sales
tax; individual and corporate income tax; benefit-based taxes; sumptuary
taxes; user fees and charges; special issues; strengths and weaknesses of
various taxes and fees.
Property Tax - History of property tax; incidence; property tax
systems; international comparisons.
Components of a Model Property Assessment and Property Tax System -
Equalization, budget, and levy systems; quality assurance; defending market
value as a valuation basis; exemptions, classifications, and tax increment
financing; related case problems.
