Assessing Info June 6 2019

Having a library or cafe down the block could change your life >

A new study shows that living near community-oriented public and commercial spaces brings a host of social benefits such as increased trust, decreased loneliness, and stronger sense of attachment to where we live. Americans who live in communities with a richer array of neighborhood amenities are twice as likely to talk daily with their neighbors as those whose neighborhoods have few amenities. Read more

Big city 'co-living' trend attracting interest, and investors >

Co-living is a growing trend in major U.S. cities where tenants in a single apartment share a common area such as the kitchen and other living spaces. Co-living start-ups specialize in matching tenants with similar interests and lifestyle. In other words, co-living is a type of intentional community, specifically geared towards those looking to be social in a new city. Read more

Clergy exemption takes $463 million off county's tax rolls >

Property tax exemptions for homes owned by clergy members in Nassau County, New York, shifted more than $463 million in valuation onto other taxpayers last year, more than double the amount in 2008, a Newsday analysis of state records shows. The growing shift in the tax burden came as the number of clergy with the exemptions nearly doubled — from 446 in 2008 to 830 in 2018, records show. Read more

IAAO NEWS

+ Moderators needed for Annual Conference sessions >

The Conference Committee is assigning moderators to the education sessions at the 85th Annual Conference in Niagara Falls, Sept. 8-11. If you are interested in serving as a moderator, send your name, professional designations or advanced degrees, jurisdiction, email address and telephone number to committee staff liaison, Leann Ritter, by June 20. Moderators help manage the flow of the education sessions by introducing the speakers, assisting with question-and-answer periods, and handling tasks such as reminding attendees about continuing education and completing the post-session evaluation. If you have interest in moderating for specific tracks only, please note that in your email. Read more

+ Conference Early Bird deadline is July 19 >

The Early Bird deadline is July 19 to register at a discount for 85th Annual International Conference on Assessment Administration, set for Sept. 8-11, 2019, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. More than 110 educational sessions are scheduled at the conference and the full list is available online. United States residents are reminded a passport is required to enter Canada. Read more

+ July 1 deadline to submit materials to run for Board >

Members interested in running for the IAAO Board of Directors should submit candidate materials by July 1, 2019. Check out the Elections page for more information. Regular members in good standing will be able to vote electronically from Nov. 1-15, 2019 for the 2020 Regular Board Member and Officer positions. There will not be a candidate for Associate Members in 2019. Read more

+ Fee Simple paper released for exposure >

The IAAO Fee Simple Task Force recently completed its paper, “Setting the Record Straight on Fee Simple” and it has been released for exposure. The paper addresses issues surrounding the definition of the term "fee simple," including the differences in the appraisal definition and the legal definition, with a view that the appraisal industry definition should not be different. The exposure draft can be downloaded from the IAAO website. Comments are due by Friday, June 14. The IAAO Board of Directors is also still accepting membership comment on a proposed change in Section 5.9 of the Standard on Sales Verification and Adjustment of Sales . Read more

IAAO Connect Corner

+ RFI for County Assessor and Treasurer Software >

County desires to implement a unified, commercially available software solution for the Assessor and Treasury departments. Read more

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AROUND THE INDUSTRY

+ Amazon building special warehouses for hazardous items >

After a can of bear repellent exploded in an Amazon warehouse and sent nearly two dozen workers to the hospital, Amazon plans to store bear repellent and similarly hazardous items in a new kind of warehouse designed specifically for that sort of merchandise. It began developing the facilities last year, before the bear repellent incident, with an 80,000 square foot site test site in Virginia, which it retrofitted to accommodate controlled goods. This summer, Amazon will open the first of these warehouses built from the ground up, a 500,000 square-foot fulfillment center in Mississippi. Read more

+ Separated by design: How some of America's richest towns fight affordable housing >

In southwest Connecticut, the gap between rich and poor is wider than anywhere else in the country. Invisible walls created by local zoning boards and the state government block affordable housing and, by extension, the people who need it. Read more

+ UK inheritance tax rules 'save richest families nearly £700m a year’ >

A clutch of the wealthiest families in the UK are taking advantage of inheritance tax rules designed to help small businesses and landowners, saving themselves almost £700m a year, according to a report. The campaigning group Tax Justice UK found 234 families with more than £1m in business assets shared £458m in relief in the 2015-16 year thanks to inheritance tax breaks. This represented almost 80 percent of the total business tax relief given in that financial tax year. Read more

+ Kaegi's property tax data bill hits wall in statehouse >

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi will have to wait at least a few more months before his proposal to collect more property tax data becomes law. The state House put the kibosh on Kaegi’s proposal to require large commercial property owners to report their income data, the assessor told the Chicago Tribune. The proposal sailed through the state Senate last month, but the House won’t get a chance to vote on the bill before the scheduled end of the spring session Friday. Read more

+ Wisconsin Democrats float bill to require listing voucher school impact on property taxes >

For the second session in a row, Democratic lawmakers are floating a bill that would require municipalities to spell out on property tax bills how much money is going to support private, mostly religious, schools that accept students on taxpayer-funded vouchers. Supporters say taxpayers have a right to understand the fiscal impact of the state's various voucher programs, which together cost state and local taxpayers more than $300 million a year. Read more