2006 Annual ReportOffice of the County Appraiser

Paul A. Welcome, CAE, ASA, RMA

JOHNSON COUNTY KANSAS

Appraiser’s Calendar

* Records & Tax Administration (County Clerks Office)Deadlines that fall on a Holiday or Weekend will be Extended to the Next Day of Business

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JAN 01 Validation Date for all Property for the Current Appraisal Year Roll

Personal Property Renditions are Sent to Owners

MAR 01 Notices of Appraised Value is Mailed to Real Property Owners

MAR 15 Due Date for Filing Renditions for Personal Property Leased, Loaned, Rented, Consigned or Owned. These Items Include Office Furniture, Equipment, Machinery, Boats etc.

MAR 31 Deadline for Filing a Real Property Valuation Appeal

APR 01 Oil and Gas Renditions are Due

MAY 01 Notices of Appraised Value are Mailed to Personal Property Owners

MAY 10 Second Half Payment Under Protest Payment Due, if Taxes Have Been Paid

MAY 15 Deadline for Filing a Personal Property Valuation. Real Property Valuation Appeals are Completed at Informal Level

MAY 20 Last Date for Decisions From Real Property Valuation Appeal Changes to be Mailed

JUN 15 Appraiser Certifies Appraisal Roll to the RTA*

JUL 01 Certify Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Values to the RTA

NOV 01 Tax Bills Mailed to Property Owners

DEC 20 Property Tax Payments, Half or Full – is Due

First Half Payment Under Protest Payment Due

From the Past to the PresentCreated in 1855, Johnson County was one of the first 33 counties in Kansas and was named for the Reverend Thomas Johnson, a founder of the Shawnee Mission Methodist Mission. Today the county serves home to more than 525,000 people and continues to attract about 10,000 new residents each year. Johnson County became the largest county in 1993 and has been the largest county for the past 14 years.

Table of ContentsMessage From the Appraiser 3

Program Chart…………………. 4

Johnson County Statistics….. 5

Personal Property…………….. 6

Residential Real Estate……… 7

Commercial Real Estate…….. 9

Support Services………………. 10

Administration…………………. 11

Revenue & Expenses…………. 12

Johnson County Officials…… 13

Sunset Green Building………. 14

2006 Office Staff………………. 16

Source: CERI & County Treasurer 2

From the Desk of Paul Welcome, CAE, ASA, RMA

I am happy to report on a very strong, exciting and amazing year. As an organization we focused our business strategies on new technology and better ways to serve the citizens of the Johnson County community. These key business strategies along with other initiatives influenced our strengths and clarified opportunities which allowed us to accomplish all planned and desired outcomes throughout 2006.

The Johnson County Appraiser’s Office was recognized for “best practices” in assessment administration and received the “Excellence in Assessment Administration Award” from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO). Johnson County was one of only four jurisdictions to receive this honor from IAAO.

The office was successful in implementing a new statute passed by the Kansas legislature which required exemption on all future purchases (effective July 1, 2006) and to increase the exemption of personal property from $400 to $1500.

In 2006 we introduced a newer technology which involved a new sketching software called Apex. Apex is widely used by the appraisal industry to sketch building footprints. It provides a clear pictorial view as well as the calculated square footage of the floor plan. In preparation for Apex, we had 180,000 parcels that needed to be redrawn and we were successful in completing approximately 90,000 parcels.

On June 26, 2006, the Johnson County Appraiser’s office moved to its new, energy efficient Green building, located at the northwest corner of 119th and Ridgeview in Olathe, Kansas. Green building means, the building was constructed to be environmentally responsible and a healthy place to work (LEEDS U.S. Green Building Council). The Sunset Drive Building is Johnson County’s first LEED® Gold Certified public building. A Green Building Rating System (point checklist) was used to determine the LEED Gold certification based on; sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental air quality, and innovation and design process. This high achievement is equaled by only one other building in the Kansas City metro area and in the state of Kansas. The facility houses seven county administrative offices and serves as a sustainable educational experience in which the public can interact.

Office of the County Appraiser11811 Sunset Drive, Suite 2100

Olathe, Kansas 66061

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We take pride in sharing that our Green building was instrumental to achieving recognition for the following awards in 2006:

2006 Excellence Award (Design-Build Institute of America)2006 Excellence Award (Mid-America Chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America)2006 Merit Award for Excellence in Architecture (Kansas Chapter of the AIA)2006 Merit Award (Kansas City AIA Committee on the Environment)

We are proud to maintain the prestigious position of being in substantial compliance in 2006 with state directives as required by the Property Valuation Division of the Kansas Department of Revenue. We also accomplished statistical compliance in regard to the Ratio Budget performed by the state.

The Vision of the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office is to continuously strive for excellence. Our vision gives life to our unwavering ability to improve and we have been successful in leveraging our strengths and opportunities as we strive to make a difference for the very best community for many years to come.

I hope this message has been helpful in conveying what we accomplished in 2006 and how we plan to move forward. We believe that by focusing on technology and better ways to serve the community, we will be consistent with our mission: to execute the highest standards of appraisal practices with exceptional quality of service that citizens of Johnson County have come to expect.

Paul A. Welcome, CAE, ASA, RMA

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County Appraiser

Administration Personal Property

ResidentialReal Estate

SupportServices

CommercialReal Estate

Program Chart

The Mission of the Office of the Appraiser is to achieve equalization among all classes of property by maintaining the highest standards in appraisal practices and law, guided by the goals of providing quality service to the public, developing high-performance employees by creating career ladders that recognize achievement, and by managing county growth through the creation of automated programs which expedite the work flow.

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Johnson County Statistics

The Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire (SVQ) is required by state law for all real property sales in Kansas.

The SVQ has two main purposes.

1) To acquire information to enter into the county sales data file to use for comparable sales.

2) To acquire sales information to use for the State Sales Ratio Study.

The SVQ table shown to the right shows the monthly count that indicates the market activity for years 2004 through 2006.

Out of 105 counties in the state of Kansas, Johnson County represents 30.3% of the total appraised value of Kansas property.

In 2006 Johnson County held $52.7 billion in market value. The county held more in value than Sedgwick, Shawnee, Wyandotte and Douglas counties combined.

Detailed in the table below are Johnson County statistics generated in 2006.

Johnson County issued 15,347 Residential and Commercial building permits in 2006.

Month 2004 2005 2006

JAN 1,065 1,066 1017

FEB 1,102 1,098 989

MAR 1,616 1,549 1543

APR 1,809 1,838 1505

MAY 2,001 1,828 1814

JUN 2,366 2,160 1991

JUL 2,014 1,922 1730

AUG 1,924 2,031 1617

SEP 1,596 1,710 1393

OCT 1,532 1,517 1409

NOV 1,476 1,423 1155

DEC 1,552 1,461 1114

Total 20,053 19,603 17,277

Mo/Avg 1,671 1,634 1,440

Source: 2007 PVD State Perspective & Sales Validation Questionnaire

Please visit our Website at http://appraiser.jocogov.org to learn more detailed information

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Property Type

State Appraised

StateAssessed

JOCO Appraised

JOCOAssessed

Appraised % of State

Assessed % of State

Personal Property 17,672,420,010 4,790,578,152 2,142,513,036 546,237,913 12.12% 11.40%

Residential Real Estate 113,762,101,826 13,082,641,710 39,975,514,304 4,597,184,145 35.14% 35.14%

Commercial Real Estate 24,062,576,284 6,015,644,071 8,959,387,356 2,239,846,839 37.23% 37.23%

JOCO = Johnson County

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Monthly Market Activity

Building Permits

Johnson County issued 15,347 Residential and Commercial building permits in 2006.

Personal Property

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Personal Property CharacteristicsA key characteristic of personal property is the ability to move the property without damage to it or to the real estate to which it is attached. Personal property becomes real property only when it is attached in such a way, that it loses its original physical character and cannot practically be restored to its original condition.

Personal property may be leased, loaned, rented, consigned or owned. The basic categories include; furniture, fixtures, plant equipment, office equipment, machinery, boats, aircraft, mobile homes and recreational vehicles.

AutosAutomobiles and most recreational vehicles are classed and taxed at the time of registration for license plate or renewal decal. Please consult with a personal property appraiser for further clarification concerning taxable personal property.

Individual ValuationMany personal property assets that belong to individuals are valued from market data, using appraisal guides and state and regional market sources. Next, this market data is used to establish the current value of a particular asset. Typically, this value will be based on current trade-in values according to the age of the asset and market condition. Automobiles, light trucks and motorcycles are classed separately by the State of Kansas.

The Johnson County Appraiser’s Office identified 489 new businesses in 2006, a 38% decrease from 2005, in which 775 were identified. In 2006, 431 businesses moved and 476 closed.

The total appraised valuation of personal property in 2006 was approximately $2.1 billion which was an increase from 2005. Listed below are renditions by type.

Note:Leasing Accounts Render Multiple Locations on One Rendition

Examples of Business Personal Property

Telephone systems Fax machines Copy machines Desks and chairs Computers postage meters Shelving and racks Plant machinery Storage tanks Refrigeration units High loaders tools/dies/moldsIndustrial equipment Manufacturing equipment, materials and supplies Satellite equipment Minerals

Examples of Individual Personal Property

Boats Non-highway vehicles Sailboards Heavy trucks Trailers Hot-air balloons Mobile homes Off-road vehicles Four-wheelers Aircraft

Taxpayers can conveniently file a Commercial Personal Property Rendition online, simply by e-mailing the Personal Property Rendition as an attachment to:APR-PerPropEfile@jocogov.org

Rendition 2005 2006

Commercial 17,600 24,807

Exempt 525 578

Gas 42 151

Heavy Truck 4,093 1,306

Individual 15,402 17,505

Leasing Co 872 754

Mobile Home 1,157 1,196

Oil 80 219

Total > 39,771 46,516

Source: Personal Property Division 6

Residential Real Estate

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Determining Value

The assessment date is January 1st of each year for taxes payable the following year.

For all real estate, with the exception of agriculture, the appraiser must determine market value.

Market value is based on size, amenities, location and many other variables, and it is compared to similar properties which have sold during an eighteen month time period.

Sales that occur close to the end of the twenty-one month period would be the most representative.

For most residential properties, the Appraiser considers the comparable sales approach and the cost approach. The income approach is also considered on residential multi-family properties (4 units or less) utilizing the gross rent multipler.

2006 Residential Statistics

The average residential appraised value for Johnson County in 2006 was $235,734.

The average residential sale price for a single-family residence in 2006 was $264,816.

The county captured over $42.9 million in assessed value for residential new construction.

The total appraised value of Johnson County’s residential property in 2006 was $42 billion, an increase of approximately 1.13% from 2005.

Appraiser’s Office Requirements

Pursuant to Kansas State General Property Tax Law, the Appraiser’s Office is required to appraise all real property and to determine prescribed equalization.

The Appraiser's Office does not set taxes. The amount of taxes individuals pay depends on the budgets set by the governing bodies, such as the state, county, cities, and school districts.

Appraisal Defined

An appraisal is the method established by a Kansas statute to determine a property owner’s share of the taxes that support schools, roads, health, human service programs, parks, police and fire protection.

State of Kansas

The state closely monitors counties for their accuracy in valuing property. Johnson County has consistently been found to be in compliance with the state requirements since 1992 when the state directive was issued.

Compliance Ratio Budget

Johnson County was in compliance in 2006 which means the county remained in the ratio for the market (90-100%).

Source: June 2006 Certification & Revaluation Report 7

Residential Real Estate

8Source: Revaluation Report

City 2005 2006 % Change

DeSoto 182,719 193,970 5.80%

Edgerton 108,014 116,679 7.43%

Fairway 276,556 291,882 5.25%

Gardner 149,242 160,861 7.22%

Lake Quivera 458,354 493,804 7.18%

Leawood 393,704 416,678 5.51%

Lenexa 224,364 238,210 5.81%

Merriam 145,578 150,850 3.49%

Mission 151,590 157,513 3.76%

Mission Hills 838,388 891,171 5.92%

Mission Woods 438,555 449,710 2.48%

Olathe 190,480 201,550 5.49%

Overland Park 230,095 238,172 3.39%

Prairie Village 199,661 205,588 2.88%

Roeland Park 140,372 146,241 4.01%

Shawnee 199,437 211,090 5.52%

Spring Hill 126,953 137,475 7.65%

Westwood 165,533 177,476 6.73%

Westwood Hills 310,931 330,647 5.96%

County 226,914 238,033 4.67%

City 2005 2006 % Change

DeSoto 206,215 210,132 1.86%

Edgerton 130,135 136,198 4.45%

Fairway 270,977 297,287 8.85%

Gardner 171,018 177,389 3.59%

Lake Quivera 490,746 495,808 1.02%

Leawood 462,872 484,753 4.51%

Lenexa 281,697 280,667 -0.37%

Merriam 150,819 157,249 4.09%

Mission 156,152 164,614 5.14%

Mission Hills 875,838 856,909 -2.21%

Mission Woods 861,333 728,163 -18.29%

Olathe 222,510 225,116 1.16%

Overland Park 277,181 287,782 3.68%

Prairie Village 205,565 208,964 1.63%

Roeland Park 149,830 152,956 2.04%

Shawnee 234,223 241,387 2.97%

Spring Hill 170,755 175,791 2.86%

Westwood 193,216 197,469 2.15%

Westwood Hills 367,679 336,341 -9.32%

County 256,969 264,816 2.96%

Average Sales Price – Single Family HomeAverage Appraised Value – Single Family Home

Average Appraised Value

The Average Appraised Value or Market Value established by the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office for single-family homes, shows the percent change for the average appraised value of homes for the past two years.

Average Sales Price

The Average Sales Price established by the Johnson County Appraiser’s Office for single-family homes shows the percent change for the past two years for the average sales price.

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Commercial Real Estate

9Source: Revaluation Report & Appraiser’s Website

The Commercial Real Estate division is responsible for the appraised valuation of all commercial parcel, including industrial, retail, offices, apartments, hotels and motels. The Commercial Real Estate division also maintains records on new construction and building permits.

2006 Commercial Property Statistics

Johnson County produced over $79 million in new construction assessed value.

The total appraised value for commercial property was $8 billion, a similar match to the year 2005 total.

Office space included the addition of approximately 866,000 square feet.

Retail included the addition of approximately 775,000 square feet.

Industrial included the addition of approximately 951,000 square feet.

The county added approximately 1,131 apartment units.

Hotel and Motel added ‘0’ rooms.

* Square footage are estimates

TOP 5 PROPERTY OWNERS Property Value

OAK PARK MALL, LLC $400,365,600

BLOCK & CO $367,273,055

CW ASSOCIATES, LLC $226,666,600

PRICE BROTHERS REALTY $143,537,600

SENTINEL REAL ESTATE CORP. $124,010,000

2006 Capital and Industrial Capitalization Rates

The Johnson County Appraiser’s Office commissions a capitalization rate study. Commercial and industrial properties are studied annually. Hotel and motels are studied every two years. The studies are prepared by an outside appraisal firm. For details regarding this study, please visit http://appraiser.jocogov.org or click on the hyperlink below to go directly to the site. http://appraiser.jocogov.org/stats/Commercial/2006_CapRate.pdf

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TOP 5 INDUSTRIAL PARKS Square Feet

CONGLETON INDUSTRIAL PARK 1,326,425

PARK-LEN INDUSTRIAL ESTATES 1,235,015

KANSAS COMMERCE CENTER 1,102,236

PERIMETER PARK 1,066,408

PINE RIDGE BUSINESS PARK 1,042,083

Support Services

The Support Services Division manages customer service, incoming calls, data entry and statistics. Support Services provides support to the following divisions; Personal Property, Commercial Real Estate and Residential Real Estate. All associates who manage the daily functional operations of Support Services are friendly and readily available to efficiently and effectively serve the needs of the general public as well.

In 2006, Support Services answered a total of 50,113 commercial and personal property phone calls resulting in an average of 200 calls per business day and a positive decrease of 9.4% compared to year 2005 in which 53,066 phone calls were answered.

The decrease in answering phone calls is greatly contributed to many positive factors, but the Website proved to be the most significant to reducing phone traffic.

Appraiser’s Website

The Appraiser’s office published its first Website in mid 1997 and has become one of the most widely-used, county Web sites. Today, the Website continues to experience an annual growth in Web users and the site received approximately, more than 1.25 million visitors in 2006.

The Website offers information of value for citizens. In naming just a few of the many features the site offers are; property values, county statistics, forms, an online video and printer-friendly pages. To visit the Website please click on the following hyperlink. http://appraiser.jocogov.org

Applications managed the following functions throughout 2006.

Applications Supported:

Appraiser’s Server and Network

Personal Computers (116)

Johnson County Land Records CLR and Arc View

Applications Maintained:

High-speed Scanners (2)

Flatbed Scanner (1)

Laser Printers (11)

Custom Maps

Agricultural Field Maps

Custom Maps

Splits and Combinations Source: Phone Traffic Report & Support Services Division 10 10

Administration

Designation

RMA Registered Mass Appraiser from the State of Kansas

RESResidential Evaluation Specialist from IAAO

The Administration department manages the business functions of the Appraiser’s Office. Payroll, accounts payable and property tax exemptions are just a few of the many areas managed by Administration.

The division also serves an important role in assisting the County Appraiser.

2006 Personnel Budget Vs. Actual Budget:

The office had a Personnel Budget of $5,217,100. The Actual Budget was $5,150,412.

Employee Headcount by Program Area:

The office had 99 employees who supported the work areas listed below.

Administration Services: 9

Personal Property: 22

Real Estate: 57

Customer Support: 11

Training:

The staff spent approximately 1,398 hours in classroom for training in classes relevant to the appraisal industry, work safety, computer technology and customer service.

Certifications:

The Johnson County Appraiser’s Office encourages and supports its staff in achieving the highest standards of education, certification and designation.

Education, certification and designations are accomplished through the State of Kansas and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).

The Appraiser’s Office is proud to recognize the two individuals listed below who earned a professional designation in 2006.

Brandon Hovenga, RES, RMA

Darin LaBarge, RMA

Source: Administration Records 11 11

Source: 2006 Base Budget

Personnel $5,217,100 $5,150,412

Contractual $304,436 $270,516

Material & Supplies $213,114 $120,567

Capital $94,706 $47,120

Total $5,734,650 $5,468,048

Revenue $47,983 $100,535

Overall Total > $5,686,667 $5,367,513

2006 Revenue & ExpensesBUDGET ACTUAL

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Personal Services75.2%

Contractual Services

2.9%

Commodities1.5%

Capital Outlay0.7%

Cost Allocation19.6%

2006 Budget With Cost Allocation

Personal Services93.6%

Contractual Services

3.6%

Commodities1.9%

Capital Outlay0.9%

2006 Budget WithoutCost Allocation

2006 Board of County Commissioners

County Commissioner, Chairman (4 year term)Annabeth Surbaugh 10708 West 124th Street, Overland Park, KS 66213(Term Expires 2010)

County Commissioner, District 1 (4 year term)C. Edward Peterson 5522 Aberdeen, Fairway, KS 66205(Term Expires 2010)

County Commissioner, District 2(4 year term)John Patrick Segale11425 West 50th Terrace, Shawnee, KS 66203(Term Expires 2008)

County Commissioner, District 3 (4 year term)David A. Lindstrom13209 Woodson, Overland Park, KS 66209(Term Expires 2008)

County Commissioner, District 4(4 year term)Delores Furtado8617 West 88 Terrace, Overland Park, KS 66212(Term Expired 2006)

County Commissioner, District 5 (4 year term)Douglas E. Wood 13157 South Hagan, Olathe, KS 66062(Term Expires 2010)

County Commissioner, District 6 (4 year term)John Toplikar 507 East Spruce, Olathe, KS 66061(Term Expires 2008)

2006 Reappraisal AdvisoryCommittee Members

Al Hagemann (Chairman)

Ann Jorden

Brent Jaynes

Clay Blair

Craig Eymann

Dan Sight

Doug Davidson

Jon Stewart

Bart Cohen

Keith Copaken

Lynn Mitchelson

Marshall Dean

Mike Brown

Morgan Olander

Rick Chamberlain

Stan Meyer

Susan Bowers

Tim Underwood

Tom Oltjen

Source: www.jocoelection.org 13

Johnson County Officials

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Sources: Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program, APR Facilities & www.jocogov.org

On June 26, 2006, the Johnson County Appraiser’s office relocated to its new Green building, located at the northwest corner of 119th and Ridgeview in Olathe, Kansas.

So what does Green building mean? Green building means, the building was constructed to be environmentally responsible and a healthy place to work.On the exterior, the building has been designed to exist in harmony with its natural site. Many mature trees are on the lot and many trees were preserved to create walking trails and habitat preservation.

The internal office of the 127,000 square foot building is equipped with a high performance ventilation system that was carefully engineered to eliminate toxic fume emitting materials to maintain a clean and continuous indoor environment.

WIND TURBINEA very tall wind turbine is strategically positioned a distance away from the front of the office. A wind turbine is a machine that converts the energy in wind, into electricity. It works the opposite of a fan. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft, which connects to a generator to make electricity.

The State of Kansas has a great potential for wind power production and wind energy can now be produced for the same cost as other power generating sources such as coal or nuclear plants. This new type of wind turbine is intended to be placed in suburban communities and it is quiet, productive and cost effective.

The wind turbine generates approximately half of the electricity required to power a single-family home. Wind is a clean energy source that does not emit water, air or soil pollution.

BIO-SWALERain water run-off from parking lot areas is directed into parking lot islands surrounded by natural grasses and flowers that were planted. These areas are called bio-swale and each bio-swale works to remove contaminants and oil deposited from cars parked in the parking lot. The bio-swale allows more rain to filter back into the ground. The water that leaves the site re-enters a water shed which produces a more purer form of water.

RAIN-CATCHERThe rain-catcher and bio-garden shown below were added to the environmental enhancement in September 2007. They are located inside the lobby area of the building.

The rain-catcher, shown at the top, is an energy efficient unit that works to use rain water captured from the office roof to irrigate the plants.

This natural water is ideal for irrigation because it is free of chemicals, such as fluoride, which is commonly found in tap water.

Excess water that runs through the bio-garden is cleared from contaminants by the plants and are released outside of the building into the natural watershed.

WATER AND PLUMBING SYSTEMThe plumbing system is the most efficient in the industry and includes a grey water system. The grey water system reuses water from sinks and showers to flush toilets. The use of water low-flow fixtures allows the building to use 40% less than a typical building and some fixtures do not use water.

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Sunset Green Building

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TERRAZZO FLOOR

The lobby terrazzo floor has a durable finish that is designed to last for many years to come. The floor material was crafted with a lot of post consumer recycled glass from discarded beverage bottles.

RECLAIMED WOOD

The walls located in the lobby were crafted with salvaged material from a local World War II building that was torn down. Reusing the wood, saved the native growth products and stopped the material from being sent to a landfill.

MOVEABLE WALLS

Many of the walls throughout the building can be taken down, moved, reconfigured or reinstalled. The moveable walls reduce cost, disruption and dust associated with office work and work area modifications. They also help to eliminate waste that is generated when gypsum board and stud walls are demolished.

CLEAN WATER

Storm water run-off from the roof and parking lots flow from the bio-swale, bio-filter system to ponds that are located in the woods. These ponds direct remaining sediment and other harmful contaminants to settle out, in lieu of being released into area streams.

Sources: APR Facilities

Lunar Moth Tours Green Building

The photo located on the bottom right, shows a beautiful Lunar Moth…like many employees and visitors, seems to enjoy the natural environmental setting that the building has to offer inside.

Sunset Office Receives Recognition

When employees and visitors enter the Green building they are greeted by an attractive plaque (middle photo)that is secured on The entry wall of the building lobby. This plaque is an Excellence Award presented by the Design Build Institute of America for LEED.

The Sunset office was also recognized for receiving the Following our awards in 2006:

2006 Excellence AwardDesign Build Institute of America

2006 Excellence AwardMid-America Chapter of the Design Build Institute of America

2006 Merit AwardKansas Chapter of AIA for Excellence in Architecture

2006 Merit AwardKansas City AIA Committee on the Environment

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Johnson County Government does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age or disability in employment or provision of services

http://appraiser.jocogov.org

Vision Statement An appraiser's office that makes a difference. The best people, giving their best efforts, for the very best community and striving to be better.

Che’rell BilquistPublic Information Officer

Office of the County AppraiserPublished October 2007

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Johnson County Appraiser’s Office

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