Commission weighs certification, pay and contracting options to meet new state commercial-valuation rules

The Emery County Commission on Feb. 17 discussed how to comply with a recent state requirement that commercial property valuations be performed by a certified appraiser. Staff reported quotes from an external provider (Utah Association of Counties) in the range of about $52,000 to $60,000 to perform commercial valuations for the county.

County staff and commissioners considered three options: (1) compensate an assessor or assessor-office employee to obtain the required certification, (2) contract the work to a qualified external firm for the short term, or (3) some combination of internal certification and external contracting. Commissioners debated fairness and precedent: one commissioner warned that increasing an elected official’s salary to meet certification requirements could set a difficult precedent for future mandates.

Given the May 22 timeline for completing assessments, commissioners approved a motion to explore both internal certification compensation (for the assessor or an assessor-office employee) and to advertise for proposals from outside commercial-valuation firms (a request for proposals rather than only qualifications). One commissioner recorded a dissenting vote on the salary-adjustment concept but agreed to move forward with advertising for proposals.

Staff noted the procurement must include the ability to defend valuations at appeal (Board of Equalization) and that contracting timelines are tight. Commissioners said they would consider short-term contracting as an interim measure while exploring internal certification options.