Building an operational plan for modernizing your assessment practice

IAAO recommends that residential properties should be valued using the sales approach, yet the vast majority of counties and municipalities do not use sales regression models for mass appraisal. Many would like to modernize their mass appraisal practice, and have a strategic vision for doing so. If we had a CAMA system... or If we had regression models... are common refrains. No mistake, these are necessary elements, yet modernizing your operation takes much much more. Operational planning addresses all of the elements and activities that are needed to advance your practice in detail. What is needed?; Who will do it?; What will it cost?; How will it be paid for?; and What is a reasonable time frame to accomplish the goal? Using lecture, small group discussion and a series of exercises, participants will work through building an operational plan for a fictional municipality. We will examine organization; staffing; the valuation process;data; budgeting; requirements documents controlling the story and building a project timetable.