Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

Uniformly high property values does not supplant the primary requirement that real property be valued at fair market value on Jan. 1 per AS 29.45.110. Therefore, a recent sale or appraisal meeting these conditions is the gold standard and shall be the assessed value.

The mass appraisal method is a “technique” defined as a “process of valuing a universe of properties as of a given date using standardized methodology and allowing statistical testing.”

The IAAO in Assessment Administration on page 229 states, “In an appeal, a complete defense does take on some elements of a single-property appraisal. Computer-assisted mass appraisal for all its strengths tends to retreat into the background during a protest. A protest, by nature of its focus on an individual property, often requires the skills of individual property appraisal.”

On its face, when a non-standardized or replacement cost new hybrid methodology of assessment is used by the assessor,

the presumption that the municipality can use whatever methodology it desires is rebutted in favor of protecting citizens who ultimately control the instruments of power per AS 44.62.312. Smearing appellants because they complain of high-assessed property values is on its face examples of the CBJ and assessor riddling the system with “Dirty Data” to manipulate property values higher.

Therefore, AS [Amended] AS 29.45.110. Full and True Value would read as follows:

(a) An appeal pursuant to this section must be treated as a single-property appraisal.