Qualifications:  Sole Appointed Assessors

Applicants must meet minimum qualification standards before being appointed to the office of assessor. The training and qualification requirements for Appointed Sole Assessors are defined in State Board's Rules §188-2.2.  The municipality considering an individual for appointment should submit an Application for Qualifications Review (RP-3006) to Educational Services prior to making a new assessor appointment. Instructions are available for completing fill-in forms.   Educational Services will review the application and inform the municipality of the results within 30 days. Once qualifications are approved, the appointing authority can appoint the assessor to office.

Term of Office for Sole Appointed Assessors

Sole Appointed Assessor appointments, as prescribed in the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) §310 shall be for a six year term of office.

The term of office begins October 1, 2007 and ends September 30, 2013.

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:

This is professional work in the valuation for assessment of real property for tax purposes and the preparation of an annual assessment roll. Work is performed under the general direction of the municipal legislator or the appointing authority. Supervision is exercised over the work of appraisal and clerical staff. Advisory service is available from the County Director of Real Property Tax Services and the State Board of Equalization and Assessment. Does related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES:

(Illustrative Only) Annually values and revalues each parcel of real property; Utilizes and maintains current tax maps and appraisal cards; Attends all hearings of the Board of Assessment Review; Makes changes in assessments in accordance with law, as directed by the Board of Assessment Review; Appoints and trains an acting Assessor to perform, as needed; Attends the public examinations of the tentative assessment roll at times prescribed by law; Receives complaints filed and transmits them to the Board of Assessment Review; Prepares reports of assessment activities, as required by the appointing authority or the State Board of Equalization and Assessment; Provides school districts within the assessing unit a copy of the current pertinent portion of the assessment roll; Supervises and trains appraisal staff members in the technique of appraisal and assessment; Reviews and makes determinations with respect to applications for tax exemptions; May seek County advisory services in determining values of certain parcels.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Good knowledge of making an appraisal of types of real property which are regularly sold; good knowledge of the theory, principles and practices of real property valuation and assessment; good knowledge of residential and commercial building construction methods, materials and their costs; good knowledge of laws governing the valuation and assessment of real property; good knowledge of deeds and related property records; ability to make and review arithmetic computations with speed and accuracy; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with the public, municipal officials and the Assessment Review Board; ability to plan, work and supervise the work of others; integrity; tact; courtesy; good judgement.

ASSESSOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Either: (1) (i) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma; AND (ii) Two (2) years of satisfactory full-time paid experience in an occupation involving the valuation of real property, such as assessor, appraiser, valuation data manager, real property appraisal aide or the like. Such experience shall be deemed satisfactory if it is demonstrated that the experience primarily was gained in the performance of one or more of the following tasks: collection and recording of property inventory data, preparation of comparable sales analysis reports, preparation of signed valuation or appraisal estimates or reports using cost, income or market data approaches to value. It shall be the responsibility of the appointee to provide detailed and verified documentation of such experience, including work schedules and samples of finished products. Mere listing of real property for potential sale, or preparation of asking prices for real estate for potential sale, using multiple listing reports or other published asking prices is not qualifying experience; OR (2) Graduation from an accredited two-year college AND one (1) year of the experience described in subparagraph (1)(ii) of this subdivision; OR (3) Graduation from an accredited four-year college AND six (6) months of the experience described in (1)(ii) of this subdivision; OR graduation from an accredited four-year college AND a written commitment from the county director that the county will provide training in assessment administration, approved by the State Board, within a six-month period; OR (4) Certification by the State Board as a candidate for assessor. (5) In evaluating the experience described in subparagraph (1)(ii) of this subdivision, the following conditions shall apply: (i) If the assessor has been previously certified by the State Board as a State certified assessor pursuant to section 188-2.1 of this Subpart while serving as an elected assessor, such certification is equivalent to one (1) year of the experience described in subparagraph (1)(ii) of this subdivision if it has not expired; (ii) For the purpose of crediting full-time paid experience, a minimum of 30-hours per week shall be deemed as full-time employment; (iii) Three (3) years of part-time paid experience as sole assessor or as chairman of the board of assessors shall be credited as one (1) year of full-time paid experience, and five (5) years of part-time paid experience as a member of a board of assessors shall be credited as one (1) year of full-time paid experience. Paid part-time experience in excess of these amounts shall be credited; (iv) Volunteer experience in an assessor's office may be credited as paid experience to the extent that it includes tasks such as data collection; calculation of value estimates; preparation of preliminary valuation reports; providing routine assessment information to a computer center; public relations; and review of value estimates, computer output and exemption applications; and (v) In no case shall less than six (6) months of the experience described in subparagraph (1)(ii) of this subdivision be acceptable, with the exception of county training as provided for in paragraph (3) of this subdivision.

The assessor is a local government official who estimates the value of real property within a city, town, or village's boundaries. This value is converted into an assessment, which is one component in the computation of real property tax bills. Assessors must obtain basic certification by New York State within three years of taking office*. This requires the successful completion of orientation, three assessment administration course components, and five appraisal components, including farm appraisal for certain agricultural communities. The New York State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) prescribes the components.  Each year, appointed assessors must complete an average of 24 hours of continuing education. Both elected and appointed assessors may attain any of three advanced designations awarded by ORPS: State Certified Assessor-Advanced, State Certified Assessor-Professional, and State Certified Assessor-National.

The assessor is obligated by New York State law to maintain assessments at a uniform percentage of market value each year. The assessor signs an oath to this effect when certifying the tentative assessment roll -- the document containing each property assessment. The physical description (or inventory) and value estimate of every parcel is required to be kept current. In order to maintain a uniform roll, each year your assessor will need to analyze all of the properties in the municipality to determine which assessments need to be changed.

Where assessments need to be changed, in some cases, your assessor will be able to increase or decrease the assessments of a neighborhood or group of properties by applying real estate market trends to those properties. This is possible only when the assessments to be changed are at a uniform level other than the municipality's stated level of assessment. In other cases, the assessor will need to conduct physical reinspections for reappraisals of properties. Every assessing unit should be keeping all assessments at a fair and uniform level every year.  

The assessment roll shows assessments and appropriate exemptions. Every year the roll, with preliminary or tentative assessments, is made available for public inspection. After the Board of Assessment Review (BAR) has acted on assessment complaints and ordered any changes, the tentative assessment roll is made final.

All real property, commonly known as real estate, is assessed. Real property is defined as land and any permanent structures attached to it. Some examples of real property are houses, gas stations, office buildings, vacant land, motels, shopping centers, saleable natural resources (oil, gas, timber), farms, apartment buildings, factories, restaurants, and, in most instances, mobile homes.

Before assessing any parcel of property, the assessor estimates its market value. Market value is how much a property would sell for, in an open market, under normal conditions. To estimate market values, the assessor must be familiar with all aspects of the local real estate market.

A property's value can be estimated in three different ways.

1. First, property is compared to others similar to it that have sold recently, using only sales where the buyer and seller both acted without undue pressure. This method is called the market approach and is normally used to value residential, vacant, and farm properties.

2. The second way is to calculate the cost, using today's labor and material prices, to replace the structure with a similar one. If the structure is not new, the assessor determines the depreciation since it was built. The resulting value is added to an estimate of the market value of the land. This method, called the cost approach, is used to value special purpose and utility properties.

3. The third way is to analyze how much income a property (like an apartment building, store, or factory) will produce if rented. Operating expenses, insurance, maintenance costs, financing terms, and how much money expected to be earned are considered. This method is called the income approach.

Properties in sub optimal uses generally may not be assessed at market value; they must be assessed at their current-use value.

Assessors with computers can estimate values more efficiently than by hand. Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) techniques are used to analyze sales and estimate values for many properties at once.

Once the assessor estimates the market value of a property, its assessment is calculated. New York State law provides that all property within a municipality be assessed at a uniform percent of market value. The level of assessment can be five percent, 20 percent, 50 percent, or any other fraction, up to 100 percent. Everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes as long as every property in a locality is assessed at the same percent of value.

For example, a house with a market value of $100,000 located in a town that assesses at 15 percent of value would have an assessment of $15,000. The assessment is multiplied by the tax rate for each taxing jurisdiction - city, town, village, school district, etc. - to determine the tax bills. (For further explanation of this process, see "How the Property Tax Works".

The New York State Assessors' Association pamphlet, "Understanding Assessments and Property Taxes," states:

The Assessor has a right to go to your front door and seek admittance (possibly he or she will only want to inspect the exterior of the house) but must leave the premises if asked to do so.

If it is really inconvenient to allow an inspection at that time, tell your visitor just that and try to make an appointment for some other date. However, if you can spare the ten minutes or so that will usually be required, we urge that you allow it to proceed so that the information necessary for equitable assessment can be gathered.

The pamphlet cautions property owners not to allow anyone into their homes without proper identification, preferably I.D. cards with photographs signed by an authorized town or city official. "No identification - no entry!" 

The assessor performs many other administrative functions, such as inspecting new construction and major improvements to existing structures. This ensures that the record of each property's physical inventory is current and that the appropriate improvements are assessed.

The assessor also approves and keeps track of property tax exemptions. Among the most common are the senior citizen, School Tax Relief (STAR), veterans, agricultural, and business exemptions.

The Real Property System is a computer software package (created and maintained by ORPS) to assist assessment administration functions. It is available to assessors who have the necessary computer equipment, and allows them to electronically maintain the assessment roll and related records. Corrections to State form RP-5217 can also be sent to the State Board electronically. T he Real Property System also includes computer-assisted mass appraisal programs for value estimation and assessment updates.

Legally, the assessor must be present at all public hearings of the Board of Assessment Review (BAR). The BAR may request the assessor to present evidence in support of tentative assessments being grieved by taxpayers. After meeting in private without the assessor, the BAR makes its decisions and orders any appropriate changes to the assessment roll before it becomes final. If assessment reductions are denied by the BAR, and property owners appeal to Small Claims Assessment Review, the assessor prepares evidence for those hearings.

The assessor reviews every transfer of real property for accuracy, including the basic information on the buyer, seller, and sale price. Assessment records are updated, and any unusual conditions affecting the transfer are also verified. Results are recorded on form RP-5217 at the real estate closing. The assessor makes corrections to this form.

ORPS requires assessors to file an annual report on assessment changes. ORPS also "equalizes" property assessments to a common full (market) value in each municipality. More information on the ORPS full value measurement program is available.

The assessor is continually communicating with the public, answering questions, and dealing with concerns raised by taxpayers. Anyone can examine the assessment roll and property records at any time. However, between Taxable Status Day and the filing of the tentative roll (generally, March through May), it should be done by appointment.

It is up to individual property owners to monitor their own assessments. Taxpayers who feel they are not being fairly assessed should meet with their assessor before the tentative assessment roll is established. In an informal setting, the assessor can explain how the assessment was determined and the rationale behind it.

Assessors are interested only in fairly assessing property in their assessing unit. If your assessment is correct and your tax bill still seems too high, the assessor cannot change that. Complaints to the assessor must be about how property is assessed.

Taxpayers unhappy with growing property tax bills should not be concerned only with assessments. They should also examine the scope of budgets and expenditures of the taxing jurisdictions (counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, etc.) and address those issues in appropriate and available public forums.

Informal meetings with assessors to resolve assessment questions about the next assessment roll can take place throughout the year. If, after speaking with your assessor, you still feel you are unfairly assessed, the booklet, "How to Contest Your Assessment" describes how to prepare and file a complaint with the Board of Assessment Review for an assessment reduction, and indicates the time of year it can be done.

 Source:  http://www.orps.state.ny.us/