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    • Annual Conference Reminder
    42nd Property Tax Institute Set for October 30-31, 2000
    Don't forget to register for the 42nd Institute on Property Taxation held with the Comptroller's Property Tax Division 22nd Annual Conference for tax professionals and taxpayers. The conference is the joint effort of the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) School of Public Affairs, the State Comptroller's Property Tax Division and property tax associations.

    Set for Monday and Tuesday, October 30 and 31, the conference site is the Thompson Conference Center on the University of Texas campus at Red River and 26th Streets in Austin. All conference sessions and workshops will be held in the Thompson Conference Center.

    The $100 registration fee covers the cost of the rooms for the joint conference general sessions and workshops, refreshments and handouts. Please send the fee with the registration form to the Office of Conference and Training at the LBJ School at the address listed on the form.

    Time information
    Registration will be in the lobby of the Thompson Conference Center between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. on Monday morning, October 30. General sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday and 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 31. Workshop sessions will be from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. on Monday and from 9:50 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday. A closing general session on Tuesday ends around 12:45 p.m.
    Hotel arrangements
    The Omni Austin Hotel Downtown has set aside a room block for conference participants at the preferential room rate of $70 (single) and $110 (double). The hotel is located at 700 San Jacinto Street, Austin, Texas 78701; the telephone number is 512/476-3700. The hotel fax number is 512/320-1450.

    The special rate will be offered until October 8, or until the room block is filled. Please tell the reservation clerk that you are a program participant to obtain the special rate.

    The hotel does charge a garage parking fee of $6.50 per day.

    Special assistance
    The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs staff wants to assist people with special needs. Please indicate on the registration form if a person requires assistance. The staff asks for notice by October 16.
    Refund policy
    If pre-registered but unable to attend, a person is entitled to a full refund if the LBJ School receives cancellation notice at least three working days before the conference. The refund must be requested in writing, stating the social security/tax I.D. number of the refund recipient. Refunds will be processed after the completion of the conference. Partial refunds or fee payments cannot be accepted or processed. There will be no refunds for late cancellations and no-shows. The LBJ School cannot be responsible for any expenses incurred before a person received a confirmation of registration from the LBJ School office.
    State Comptroller’s Property Tax Division 22nd Annual Conference
    Monday, October 30, 2000
    Thompson Conference Center
    7:30 a.m. Registration Lobby
    8:30 a.m. Opening General Session
    Welcome and Introduction     		Rooms 1.110 and 3.102
    8:45 a.m. Listening
      If writing, reading, speaking and listening make up 100 percent of communication for a typical workday, listening will account for 45 percent. How can we maximize our listening effectiveness while adapting to the different listening styles of others? What are the essential skills that can help us listen between the lines to the meaning of others?
    10:15 a.m. Break
    10:40 a.m. Geographic Information Systems
      The Director of the Texas Association of Counties’ County Information Project is also the co-chair of the Texas Geographic Information Systems Council. He is actively assisting counties to obtain GIS and GIS resources. He will offer an overview of what is happening in the world of GIS, the resources freely available to local governments and future trends.
    11:40 a.m. e-Texas: Times Are E-Changing
    12:10 p.m. Lunch Break
    1:30 p.m. Concurrent Workshops I
     
    1. Open Forum I — e-Texas
      Representatives from the Comptroller’s e-Texas initiative and the Property Tax Division will discuss the implications for property tax professionals.

    2. Agricultural Appraisal Issues
      This session will discuss current agricultural and timber land appraisal issues. It will also focus on farm, ranch and timber equipment: exempt or taxable under Tax Code Section 11.161?

    3. Appraising, Listing and Collecting Taxes on Mobile Homes
      This workshop will include a question & answer session on filing tax liens against mobile homes. How can homes be properly identified and listed? What can be done to overcome the traditionally disproportionally high delinquency rates for these homes?

    4. How Do You Handle Conflict?
      Profs. Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilman have identified five different approaches to conflict. All are valid and useful, and the choice must be determined by the circumstance. In this session you will learn to identify the approach you prefer, when your preferred approach is the most useful and what the other four can do for you in the right situation.

    5. Attracting the Best to Serve as Appraisal Review Board Members and Appraisal District Directors
      What are the considerations when selecting people to serve as ARB members and Appraisal District Directors? What can be done to attract the most competent and fair-minded volunteers from the community? What can current ARB members do to make future transitions as smooth as possible?

    6. The Income Approach to Value -- Intangibles
      What are the issues surrounding the income approach to appraising? What have been the challenges by property owners? What are the legal arguments?
    3:00 p.m. Break
    3:30 p.m. Concurrent Workshops II
     
    1. Open Forum II — Collection Issues
      Representatives from the Comptroller’s Property Tax Division will discuss legislative changes and other issues relating to property tax collection. Areas will include refunds, payment options, exemption applications and electronic tax payments.

    2. Appraisal Standards: IAAO and USPAP.
      This session will look at the International Association of Assessing Officers' Standards and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. How do these standards compare? Do they differ?

    3. Serving the Public
      The notion of "customer service" is commonly associated with the service industry, focusing on value and efficiency. What then constitutes "customer service" for the property tax officials when most of the "customers" would just as soon have nothing to do with the "service?" What are the "value" and "efficiency" our customers can expect?

    4. Filing Forms and Applications
      Electronically: Implementing Tax Code Section 1.085
      This session will introduce some sample agreements between property owners and chief appraisers allowing for electronic filing. What should be the appraiser’s decision-making criteria? What types of forms and applications can be accepted electronically? How are these forms and applications provided electronically and what is the date of delivery?

    5. ARB/CAD Relationship and The ARB Hearing Procedures Survey
      This double-topic session will offer a panel discussion of the relationship between ARB members and the appraisal district.

      This will be followed by an overview of the feedback received so far in the Hearing Procedures Survey. What are the next steps for the survey results? What are the findings?

    6. Appraisal of Restricted-Use Timberland
      What has been the impact of implementing the new laws? What are the issues?
    5:00 p.m. Adjourn for the Day

    Tuesday, October 31, 2000
    Thompson Conference Center

    8:00 a.m. General Session Rooms 1.110 and 3.102
      Presider: Buddy Breivogel, Manager, Property Tax Division, Office of the Comptroller

    Legislators' Expectations for Property Tax Changes in 2001 Legislative Session
    Texas legislators and key staff members will offer an overview of the anticipated legislative agenda on property tax issues.

    What Others are Seeking in Property Tax Changes: A Panel Discussion
    A panel made up of representatives of public sector associations will discuss the legislative priorities of the respective association members.

    9:30 a.m. Break
    9:50 a.m. Concurrent Workshops III
     
    1. Open Forum III — ARB Issues
      This session will allow attendees to engage in a dialogue concerning a range of issues of special significance to ARB members. Topics will include security issues, evidence, burden of proof, the Comptroller’s annual ratio study and post-certification remedies.

    2. Transforming Stress into Resiliance
      A resilient individual has the psychological and biological strengths required to successfully master change and bounce back when the going gets tough. This presentation will teach you how to increase your level of resilience by taking greater responsibility, focusing on empowering interpretations and having meaningful connections.

    3. Filing Tax Deferrals
      Originally designed as a way to guarantee that the elderly would not be forced to sell their homes in order to pay their property taxes, deferral filing has become, in some places, an investment strategy for the upper and middleclass homeowner. A panel will discuss the merits and constraints of this program.

    4. Public Property Used by Private Companies -- Exempt or Taxable Leasehold? Plus Charitable Organizations and the Constitutional Amendment: HJR 4's Effect
      This double-topic session will focus on the types of uses and agreements between public and private entities on the private entities’ use of public property. What have been the court rulings? What has been the tax impact?

      This will be followed by an overview of the effect of legislative changes to Tax Code Section 11.18.

    5. Property Value Study
      Representatives from the Comptroller’s Property Tax Division will discuss the work and findings of the property value study.

    6. Open Records: Availability and Copying Charges
      What are the issues surrounding the 2000 law changes regarding open record requests? What additional changes are in store for 2001?
    11:00 a.m. Break
    11:30 a.m. Closing General Session Rooms 1.110 and 3.102
      Presider: Anneliese Geis, Director, Office of Conferences & Training, LBJ School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin

    Water Rights - A New Economy
    This session looks at the legal questions and current issues dealing with the purchase and lease of water rights, including the questions of taxation and appraisal.

    Residence Homestead Limitation -- The 10-Percent Cap
    Is this, as some have described it, the Texas equivalent of California’s Prop. 13, or is it a sensible cap on the tax burden on homeowners in the red-hot home markets in Texas? This session will offer a look at concerns by homeowners since this law became effective in 1998 and discuss the limitation effect in subsequent years.

    12:45 p.m. Adjourn the 42nd Property Tax Institute/ 22nd Annual Conference

    Registration Form

    This registration form is a PDF file. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will need to download it it to view and print the forms.