Who is allowed to decide my Kansas property tax appeal at the county level, and can the appraiser who set my value hear it?

Plain-English summary

When a Kansas property owner appeals a valuation at the county level, the appeal is heard by a hearing officer or a hearing panel appointed under K.S.A. 79-1611. This directive sets who is qualified to sit in that seat, and replaces the Division's two 1992 directives on the subject (#92-008 and #92-012).

The conflict-of-interest rule is the part most owners care about. Quoting the statute directly, the directive states: "Any person who has performed an appraisal of any property the appraised valuation of which is appealed to a hearing officer or the county or district hearing panel shall not hear such appeal and may not participate in any deliberations on such appeal." Note that the bar covers both hearing and deliberating — someone disqualified cannot sit quietly in the room and help decide.

On qualifications, the Division's baseline expectation is that hearing officers and panel members "should have education, experience and training in the field of property appraisal and property tax administration." The concrete minimum every appointee must complete is:

1. A training program for county hearing officers and panel members "conducted by the director of property valuation or the director's designee"; and
2. IAAO Course 101 "or its equivalent"; and
3. IAAO Course 102 "or its equivalent in order to hear commercial property appeals."

IAAO is the International Association of Assessing Officers. The third item is conditional — Course 102 is what unlocks commercial appeals specifically.

There is an alternative route. An appraiser "licensed or certified by the Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board in good standing" may serve after completing only the Division's training program. A credentialed appraiser does not separately need the IAAO coursework.

The training has a freshness date. For the Division-run program, "each individual shall have attended and completed such program on or after January 1, 2017." Older training does not carry forward.

Two administrative points close it out. Appeals "shall be decided in accordance with the laws of the state of Kansas," with K.S.A. 79-1606 and 79-1610 governing the procedure and the county clerk's duties. And the county appraiser "should maintain a copy of the appeal form, hearing date and a copy of the decision of the hearing officer/panel in the appeal tracking portion of the computer assisted mass appraisal system."

What this means for you

If you are appealing your property valuation

The person deciding your appeal should not be the person who appraised your property. If you recognize the hearing officer as the appraiser who set your value — or learn that such a person took part in the deliberations — that is a direct conflict with the statute the directive quotes, and worth raising on the record promptly.

If you are appealing a commercial valuation

Commercial appeals carry a higher training bar: IAAO Course 102 or its equivalent, on top of Course 101 and the Division's program. A hearing officer qualified to hear residential appeals is not automatically qualified for yours.

If you want to know your hearing officer's credentials

The directive gives you the vocabulary to ask: the Division's training program (completed on or after January 1, 2017), IAAO 101, IAAO 102 for commercial, or Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board licensure/certification in good standing plus the Division program.

County appraisers, clerks and commissioners

Appointment is not enough — appointees must have completed the specified coursework, and the Division's own program must have been taken on or after January 1, 2017. The record-keeping instruction is specific: appeal form, hearing date, and the decision, kept in the appeal tracking portion of the CAMA system.

Accountants and tax professionals

Two checks are cheap and occasionally decisive: confirm no one who valued the property is hearing or deliberating on the appeal, and for commercial matters confirm the Course 102 qualification. Both are grounded in the directive's plain text rather than local practice.

Common questions

Q: Can the appraiser who valued my property decide my appeal?
A: No. The statute quoted in the directive bars any person who performed an appraisal of the property from hearing the appeal or participating in any deliberations on it.

Q: What training does a hearing officer need?
A: At a minimum, the Division's training program for county hearing officers and panel members, plus IAAO Course 101 or its equivalent -- and IAAO Course 102 or its equivalent to hear commercial property appeals.

Q: Is there an exception for professional appraisers?
A: Yes. An appraiser licensed or certified by the Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board in good standing may serve after attending and completing the Division's training program for county hearing officers and panel members.

Q: Does older training count?
A: Not for the Division's program. Each individual "shall have attended and completed such program on or after January 1, 2017."

Q: What law governs how my appeal is run?
A: Appeals are decided in accordance with Kansas law; the directive points to K.S.A. 79-1606 and K.S.A. 79-1610 as specifically governing the appeal procedure before the hearing officer or panel and the county clerk's duties in that process.

Q: Does anyone keep a record of the hearing?
A: Yes. The county appraiser or the appraiser's designee should maintain a copy of the appeal form, the hearing date, and a copy of the hearing officer's or panel's decision in the appeal tracking portion of the computer assisted mass appraisal system.

Q: What happened to the old directives on this?
A: This directive supersedes Directives #92-008 and #92-012.

Citations and references

Kansas statutes:

• K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 79-1611 (authority for the directive; qualifications and the disqualification of any person who appraised the property under appeal)
• K.S.A. 79-1606 (appeal procedure before the hearing officer or panel)
• K.S.A. 79-1610 (duties of the county clerk in the appeal process)

Training standards referenced:

• International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) Course 101 or its equivalent
• IAAO Course 102 or its equivalent (required to hear commercial property appeals)
• Training program conducted by the director of property valuation or the director's designee, completed on or after January 1, 2017
• Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board licensure or certification in good standing (alternative qualification route)

Superseded: Directives #92-008 and #92-012.

Source

• Landing page: Kansas Property Tax Directives
• Original PDF: PVD Directive 17-049

Original ruling text

Division Of Property Valuation phone: 785-296-2365
Docking State Office Building fax: 785-296-2320
915 SW Harrison St., Room 400N www.ksrevenue.gov
Topeka, KS 66612-1588
Samuel M. Williams, Acting Secretary Sam Brownback, Governor
David N. Harper, Director

                                   DIRECTIVE #17-049

TO: County Appraisers, County Clerks and County Commissioners
SUBJECT: Hearing Officers and Panels
This Directive Supersedes Directives #92-008 and #92-012

This directive is adopted pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 79-1611, and shall take
effect and be in force from and after the Director’s approval date.

The director of property valuation establishes the following qualifications for hearing officers and
hearing panel members serving pursuant to K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 79-1611.

Hearing officers and hearing panel members should have education, experience and training in the
field of property appraisal and property tax administration. At a minimum, each individual
appointed as a hearing officer and hearing panel member shall attend and complete:

  1) A training program designed for county hearing officers and panel members conducted by
     the director of property valuation or the director’s designee; and
  2) International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) Course 101 or its equivalent; and
  3) IAAO Course 102 or its equivalent in order to hear commercial property appeals.

Alternatively, an appraiser licensed or certified by the Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board in good
standing may serve as a hearing officer or hearing panel member after attending and completing a
training program designed for county hearing officers and panel members conducted by the
director of property valuation or the director’s designee.

With respect to a training program designed for county hearing officers and panel members
conducted by the director of property valuation or the director’s designee, each individual shall
have attended and completed such program on or after January 1, 2017.

“Any person who has performed an appraisal of any property the appraised valuation of which is
appealed to a hearing officer or the county or district hearing panel shall not hear such appeal and
may not participate in any deliberations on such appeal.” K.S.A. 2016 Supp. 79-1611

Appeals of the valuation and classification of property for purposes of ad valorem taxation shall
be decided in accordance with the laws of the state of Kansas. K.S.A. 79-1606 and K.S.A. 79-
1610 specifically govern the appeal procedure before the hearing officer or panel and provide the
duties of the county clerk in such process.

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In addition, the county appraiser or the appraiser’s designee should maintain a copy of the appeal
form, hearing date and a copy of the decision of the hearing officer/panel in the appeal tracking
portion of the computer assisted mass appraisal system.

Approved: January 23, 2017 _____
David N. Harper
Director of Property Valuation