Interested in serving on the conference planning committee for next year's conference? Attend this meeting to learn how you can contribute.

Get ready to dive deep into the wacky world of human psychology and data management! This session will explore the sneaky ways our brains can trick us into making bad decisions, especially when dealing with complex property valuations. We'll show you how to spot those pesky cognitive biases, like narrative bias and framing effects, and learn how to fight back with objective data analysis. Then, we'll take a trip to Cuyahoga County to see how they tamed their land records chaos and created a streamlined system that even your grandma could understand. You'll leave this session armed with the tools to make smarter decisions, tell better data stories, and maybe even impress your boss (or at least avoid getting fired). So, grab your thinking caps and get ready for a mind-bending adventure!

• Shaping Reality: The Power of Narratives in Data Analysis, Visualization, and Decision Architecture
  Bindi Shakya, Msc., Mass Appraisal Modeler I, City of Philadelphia, PA
• Modernizing Cuyahoga County Land Records: Overcoming Challenges
  Tom Fisher, GISP, AICP, Enterprise GIS Technologies Administrator, Cuyahoga County, OH
  Dan Giersz, Information Systems Analyst, Cuyahoga County, OH

In this 2-part session, attendees will gain insights into the implementation process, challenges faced, and the tangible benefits realized. The session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of best practices and lessons learned, inspiring other jurisdictions to consider similar advancements.

• Harnessing Street-View Imagery: A Success Story from Skagit County, WA
  Danny Hagen, IAAO-P, Assessor, Skagit County, Mount Vernon, WA
  Ian Larsen, Residential Appraiser, Skagit County, Mount Vernon, WA
• Storytelling for Impact – GIS Technology as a Tool for Advocacy
  Mike Dotson, GIS Supervisor, Franklin County Auditor's Office, Columbus, OH
  Michaella Radich, Policy Manager, Franklin County Auditor's Office, Columbus, OH

Last chance! Take free self-paced lessons on a variety of GIS and ArcGIS topics. Esri's Hands-On Learning Lab will be at GIS/ValTech 2025.

This presentation explores the transformative role of AI technologies, such as machine learning and computer vision, in enhancing accuracy, efficiency, and fairness in mass property appraisal. By examining AI applications like automated valuation models (AVMs), image recognition, and predictive analytics, attendees will gain insight into how AI improves property valuations. The session will also address ethical considerations, biases, and future directions in the field, offering practical case studies and implementation tips for assessors.

• Latest AI Trends and Their Impact on Mass Appraisal
  Shail Jain, CEO, Farragut Systems, Durham, NC
• Cowculating the Promise of Machine Learning in Assessment
  Will Jarvis, Founder & CEO,and Jake Parkinson, Assessor Consultant, Valuebase

Mass appraisal plays a crucial role in efficiently and equitably valuing large numbers of properties, but achieving fairness and accuracy remains a challenge. While traditional models like linear regression have been commonly used, machine learning has proven to be effective, offering several benefits and strengths. To better understand these methods, the IAAO AI Taskforce has been tasked with researching and comparing various AI methodologies. In this panel, we will take an international perspective, comparing datasets from multiple countries to explore how these AI models—such as Decision Trees, Random Forest, Gradient Boosting, and Neural Networks—can be adapted to different valuation environments. By examining case studies across diverse regions, we aim to highlight best practices in using AI to create accurate and equitable property values worldwide.

IAAO AI Task Force
Luc Hermans, Data Scientist, Netherlands Council for Real Estate Assessment*
Russ Thimgan, President, Thimgan & Associates, Inc.*
Daniel Fasteen, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Tyler Technologies*
Luke Jorgensen, Data Scientist, Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office*
Joshua Jorgensen, Data Scientist, Lee County Property Appraiser’s Office*
Paul Bidanset, Ph.D., Founder, Center for Appraisal Research and Technology*
Joe Wehrli, Enterprise Architecture Manager, Tyler Technologies*
Michael McCord, Ph.D., Ulster University 
Pim Hessing, Data Analyst, Netherlands Council for Real Estate Assessment
John Valente, Appraisal Regional Manager, Tyler Technologies
Anita Ng, Assistant Commissioner (Corporate and Technology) Services, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
 
*In attendance

Did you register for an afternoon workshop? Last year, they filled fast.

So many lunch options nearby: in the hotel, convention center or in the North Market!

How to Be a Good Leader AND a Good Manager (Afternoon Half-Day) Workshop
Thursday, March 6, 2025 – 1:00 – 5:00 PM
Instructor: Shaun Christofferson, AAS, Chief Deputy Appraiser, Crook County Assessor's Office

There are some good leaders and some good managers, but few are both. Most of us have either experienced or seen questionable leadership and/or management. Colleges will learn the difference between a leader and a manager and how to be good at both. This applies to all, no matter their title. Additionally, this session will teach the many measurable benefits of being good at both. We will go over these benefits including, but not limited to building an engaged team, lowering turnover, increasing efficiencies, level of service and production.

This will be more lecture than interactive; however, there will be an hour or so of interactive time during the last part of the session. Interactive time will be mostly during the building of practical templates to use back at the office to guide towards being a good leader and manager.

Introduction to Spatial AVMs in Excel: Incorporating Spatial Variables into Regression Analysis (Afternoon Half-Day) Workshop
Thursday, March 6, 2025 - 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Instructors: Paul Bidanset, Founder/Research Scientist, Center for Appraisal Research and Technology
Daniel Fasteen, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Tyler Technologies
Peadar Davis, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Ulster University 

In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn how to incorporate location-based variables into regression models to improve the accuracy and precision of property valuations. We will cover a range of methods for accounting for spatial factors, including neighborhood dummy variables, interaction terms, and proximity measures.

Participants will explore how proximity to highways, city centers, public transportation, and other points of interest can influence property values, and how to effectively represent these influences in a regression model. We will also compare different proximity measures such as straight-line (as- the-crow-flies) distance, drive time, drive distance, and walking distance, discussing the benefits and trade-offs of each approach.

Throughout the workshop, we will address common pitfalls in spatial modeling and emphasize best practices for ensuring that location is properly considered in valuation models. Participants will also gain experience in interpreting model outputs and coefficients, ensuring they are equipped to apply these techniques in real-world valuation scenarios.

By the end of the session, participants will have a solid foundation in spatial regression modeling and the tools to incorporate spatial variables into their own valuation models, resulting in more accurate and defensible property assessments.

Parcel Mapping in ArcGIS Pro (Afternoon Half-Day) Workshop
Thursday, March 6, 2025 - 1:00 - 5:00 PM
Instructors: Kent Rothrock, Director of Technical Services, Avineon, Banner Elk, NC
Abigail Smith, GIS Analyst, Avineon, Athens, AL 

The focus of this workshop will be on parcel mapping in ArcGIS Pro (using the topology model and / or the Parcel Fabric). The format will be lecture / demo.
We’ll be discussing both using the topology model in ArcGIS Pro as well as using the Parcel Fabric in ArcGIS Pro. In both cases, we’ll discuss:

The required migration processes

• Necessary data preprocessing
• Necessary data upgrades
  
  

Demonstrate specific edit workflows including:

• Transfer
• Split
• Remap.
• Subdivisions.
  
  

Other details to be addressed include:

• Planning for the change
• Platform requirements (server hardware and software)
• PC considerations and requirements
• Software licensing details
• Training considerations
• Specific workflow details
• Updating downstream processes
• Web services
• Parcel data extracts / integrating tax data; etc
• Customizing the interface
• Attribute rules
• Potential gotchas