Oklahoma ad valorem forum, 09/2012, v. 21 no.9

              Volume XXI, Issue IX September 2012
The mission of the Ad Valorem Division of the Oklahoma Tax Commission is
to promote an ad valorem property tax system which is fair and equitable
to all taxpayers by implementing standard valuation methodology, tax law
conformity, and assessment administration compliance.
Oklahoma
Ad Valorem F O R U M
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“IAAO Zangerle Award Winner:
1997 and 2010”
Director’s Notes: It’s been a really busy month. It seemed as if we no sooner got back from the Annual Tulsa Conference and
it was time for CODA closely followed by IAAO. The Tulsa CODA meeting break-out session was good, and
we enjoyed the CODA arrangements in Tulsa although it was pretty strange not to be going to the Biltmore
after so many years. We did notice that the county assessors’ attendance at CODA was down from past years
with only about 36 or 37 assessors in attendance. The meeting room arrangements were great and we talked
with lots of folks after the meeting.
We had a great experience at the IAAO Conference. It is always interesting to talk with other assessors
and state people across the country. Some of the issues that other states have are pretty daunting problems.
I always feel better about our system when I talk to other assessors and state officials, but always see new
ways to improve things.
I especially enjoyed a session on “Extreme Make-Over for Government” which was a good presentation
about how conscientious and dedicated assessor employees often have to confront problems in the systems
that require double checks or unnecessary extra records because of past problems. His example was a faucet
with a twisted pipe that doesn’t empower the folks who need information or authority to do their job and
help the public.
I also got a kick out of a session on an assessor’s office that tracks its field personnel on GPS for their
safety in rural areas. One day, they were alarmed to find a field appraiser had gone missing. The supervisor
was worried about trouble with an angry taxpayer or an encounter with a drug dealer, but fortunately they
discovered the signal was coming from the local hospital. He’d had a kidney stone attack while measuring a
house and driven himself to the doctor’s office.
Oklahoma has been doing well with our IAAO participation. I counted twenty-eight people which was
really terrific. Canadian County (Matt Wehmuller), Cleveland County (Jannis Allen, Alma Berger, Nancy Alvarez),
Garfield County (Wade Patterson), Oklahoma County (Larry Stein), Osage County (Gail Hedgcoth), Stephens
County (Cathy Hokit, Jennifer Morris, Dana Buchanan), Tulsa County (Brenda Block, Traci Conley, Keith Hulsizer,
Don Kelley, Tammy Ritter, Jerry Rock, Becky Street, Joanna Swafford, John Wright, Julia Ziegler), Washington
County (Todd Mathes), Woods County (Monica Schmidt), OSU (Gary Snyder, Doug Warr, Scott Warren), OTC
(Jeff Spelman, Kenny Chuculate, Joe Hapgood). I said last year that the 2011 was one of the largest Oklahoma
delegations that I can remember, but this year sets a record.
The Ad Valorem Division hosted its fourth meeting on the Personal Property Schedule to discuss
methodologies and content in the 2013 schedule. We have received several comments, and the session was
attended by industry representatives and county assessors.