"The Licensed Appraiser credential allows the appraiser to appraise non-complex 1-4 unit residential properties having a transaction value of less than $1 million and complex 1-4 unit residential properties having a transaction value of less than $250,000."
If you are confused because it appears that even this licensed employee falls short of the mark necessary to do appraisals on most properties in the county, do not blame her. She has at least met the much more rigid state standards for appraisal by the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) in Colorado. Becoming a registered and licensed appraiser requires coursework and performance standards. She had to pass a difficult exam. She earned her status and it is a step well beyond what Mike Akana rushed down and applied for when people began to ask questions in July of this year. Billie Mills, the actual Elbert County Assessor, is the one in this case who should be answering the important questions in regards to who is and who is not qualified to go out into the county and perform assessment evaluation work that meets state requirements. We can only assume that our entire Assessors Office is pulling some grand charade if we have not managed to hire qualified employees.
The following is another interesting article from 2007 when Mike Akana worked for Teller County as the chief analyst in the assessor's office, and property values did not seem to align with what property owners were expecting. Read it and see if you see any resemblance to some of the questions that are being asked of our 2017 Assessment in Elbert County.
http://coloradocommunitymedia.com/stories/Property-values-questioned,62927
Then there is this article written by Michael Phillips on May 25, 2017. The link is as follows:
http://www.truthcolorado.com/art6/stickershock.html
"Sticker Shock? You’ve been Akanaed…
Ok so have most of you recovered from the shock of opening up your 2017 Notice of Value from the Elbert County Assessor?
Some background: You might be wondering by what unicorn magical process did they come up with the percentages of increase? The legend goes that in 2013 County Assessor, Billie Mills, decided two things; to fire or run off a bunch her employees, and that property in Elbert County was undervalued. So that year, property values increased slightly and employees decreased a bunch.
Then in 2015 the County hired a “well-respected company from Lamar” to do assessments that the now sharply reduced EC staff was unable to accomplish. Then this is where the typical Elbert County government fog rolled in to muddy the facts: Mike Akana (who has his own interesting reputation in various Counties) somehow wormed his way into working under said “well-respected Lamar company “ (as a subcontractor-surrogate-buddy of Billie – or something else that nobody concerned will admit to.) So Mike Akana did the residential and commercial values for the County, apparently from the state of Florida at the time using wild-ass guessing or software, but never actually physically inspecting the properties (as required by law.)
Flash forward a bit. Billie Mills then hires Mike Akana as her special data analyst....and what happens....residential values jumped all over the board (even in the same neighborhoods) from a minus to over 181% increase and those are just the ones that have been investigated so far. And commercial properties, which Elbert County is desperate to attract, go from a minus 3% to a 200% increase. Apparently Akana’s Ouija board got his Monopoly game pregnant.
Property assessments are supposed to be based on property sales information gathered from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2016. And your property value is established from those sales - when like property is compared to other like properties.
Is that what is happening? The Ouija board says NO.
YOU NEED TO DO THIS FAST So, figure out your percentage of increase from the valuation the Assessor’s Office sent you...if it's not like homes in your neighborhood then PROTEST your value. With your Notice of Valuation is a “Real Property Appeal Form.” Fill it out and get it into the Assessor’s office (hand deliver or get Postmarked) by June 1.) Demand that the assessor's office to show you how they valued YOUR home....and if you don't like the answer they give you....go on to higher authority ....the County Board of Equalization...and then to the state Board of Equalization. Remember the taxes you’ll pay next year are based on your property valuation – you know, in case you didn’t think this issue is important.
Elbert County is not booming like say Denver or high valued San Francisco; we are not shiny with lots of friendly services. We’ve got dirt roads, essentially non-existent infrastructure and scant services. Contrary to Elbert County Government’s rich fantasy life, property and values here are not sky-rocketing to raise the tax base. We are not a destination; we are a dusty pass-through on the way to somewhere.
Billie Mills needs to quit hiding behind Mike Akana’s data cloud, cut him loose, and do the job she was elected to do. Hire employees that know what they doing and get the job done right. Oh and by the way your County Assessor's value went down in 2015 ....up in 2017 but not by the 75-100% that other's did.....now that’s unicorn magic in action." (end of article)
So where does this information leave us? It is not my intention to suggest that there is an easy fix to all of this. Mike Akana is not without his skills in assessment. He has worked in several locations and has risen to the level of Senior Assessment Analyst, and so one must fairly reason that he does have a knowledge base about his field. Unfortunately, it is based almost entirely on software-based analysis that often meets with severe critical review by practitioners in his field. The concern here is the licensure, the cloud of public dissatisfaction with his methods, and the nagging employee turmoil that seems to follow him. Elbert County government has already come under enough public criticism over the past decade without adding this to the list of complaints.
Why is Billie Mills not hiring qualified and licensed assessors in her department to reassure the public that the tax assessment is being handled within the recommendations of the state laws put forth by DOLA? It is virtually impossible to get any sort of answers from the elected officials at the Kiowa Courthouse on these subjects without going through back channels, CORA requests, and the reporting of perceived violations uncovered by this process to state government officials.
This newest iteration of elected officials likes to say that they have been more transparent than past groups, but it is my observation that what transparency we do have should be credited to the citizens from both sides of the political aisle who have, quite frankly, had enough of the "good-ol'-boy" methodology. Elbert County wants to grow into a position of a modern and high functioning governance so that it might take its rightful place at the table with neighboring Arapahoe, Douglas and El Paso counties, but it refuses to acknowledge the need for compliance to state standards. When people come into adulthood, it is not good enough to say you are an adult, you must act like one. This is a concept that Elbert County seems to fight tooth and nail. There is a misguided notion that the "Elbert County way" has always worked in the past so the state and surrounding counties should accept it, but ultimately the adults around you will demand maturity and proper behavior.
We're waiting.
Licensed Ad Valorem Appraiser
This level of licensure is only utilized for appraiser employees of county tax assessment offices.
Licensed Appraiser
The Licensed Appraiser credential allows the appraiser to appraise non-complex 1-4 unit residential properties having a transaction value of less than $1 million and complex 1-4 unit residential properties having a transaction value of less than $250,000.
Certified Residential Appraiser
The Certified Residential Appraiser credential allows the appraiser to appraise 1-4 unit residential properties without regard to transaction value or complexity. The credential includes the appraisal of vacant or unimproved land that is utilized for 1-4 family purposes or for which the highest and best use is for 1-4 family purposes, but does not include land for which a subdivision analysis is necessary.
Certified General Appraiser
The Certified General credential allows the appraiser to appraise all types of real property.