MACo Urges Cost-Effective, Balanced Property Assessment Upgrades

On January 15, Legislative Director Kevin Kinnally testified before the Budget and Taxation Committee in support of SB 143 – State Department of Assessments and Taxation and Department of General Services Property Appraisal Aids – Geographic Images with amendments.

Accurate property assessments are critical for promoting fairness, transparency, and efficiency in taxation, economic development, and community planning. However, the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) has long been constrained by high turnover for real property assessor positions—primarily due to competitive salaries in other jurisdictions—and limited physical property inspections.

Instead, SDAT relies on counties to provide building permits to identify new construction and substantial improvements. SDAT also uses tools like MRIS, CoStar, Real Capital Analytics, and aerial imagery to help assessors determine property values without requiring physical onsite visits.

This bill seeks to provide SDAT with advanced digital tools to improve property assessments’ accuracy, efficiency, and fairness. Counties request amendments to reduce unnecessary costs and ensure a smooth implementation process.

From MACo Testimony:

As property tax revenue represents a significant portion of county budgets, MACo appreciates that assessors could use this information to ensure more accurate and timely assessments.

However, MACo urges clarity and local input on the fiscal impact of installing and maintaining the database, especially as counties already pay 50% of SDAT’s costs for real and business personal property valuation and information technology.

More on MACo’s Advocacy:

SB 143’s cross-file, HB 6, was heard on January 21, 2025 in the Ways and Means Committee. Kevin Kinnally testified in support of this bill with amendments.

HB 6 was heard in the opposite chamber, the Budget and Taxation Committee, on March 27. MACo submitted written testimony in support of this bill with amendments.