Symposium to look at property values following natural disasters
The City of Calgary is proud to co-host the ninth annual Mass Appraisal Valuation Symposium (MAVS) on June 18-19, 2014 with the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI).
In light of the one-year anniversary of Calgary’s historic flood, the theme of the symposium is “Ensuring Valuation Consistency in Turbulent Times: How to Deal with Natural Disasters in Economic Downturns”. Speakers from around the world will examine the 2013 Calgary flood, Christchurch’s post earthquake revaluation and Australia’s experience dealing with brush fires.
“We’re pleased to host this important symposium, especially as we near the anniversary of last year’s flood,” said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “Natural disasters affect property valuations and their assessed values, which in turn affects our city as a whole. It’s great to see so many people committed to fair and consistent valuations, even in the wake of natural disasters.”
This year’s MAVS will bring together assessment business leaders and experts from The City of Calgary’s Assessment business unit and international experts to discuss emerging valuation trends and best practices, and to formulate strategies for handling natural disasters.
“We are excited to be hosting this international conference and show the world how Calgary’s Assessment business unit successfully handled last year’s flood,” says City Assessor and Director of Assessment, Nelson Karpa. “As we approach the one-year anniversary of the flood, this is our chance to demonstrate how we assessed flood-affected properties to ensure fairness and equity.”
The conference will begin with opening remarks from Paul Sanderson from IPTI, Nelson Karpa and Mayor Nenshi on Wed. June 18 at 8:45 a.m. at the Calgary Marriott Downtown Hotel. The agenda and list of speakers can be found on the conference’s brochure.
IPTI is an independent global organization that supports the building of property tax system capacity through collaborative partnerships of practitioners, governments, taxpayers and academia. IPTI provides a variety of opportunities for experience sharing and dissemination of best practice through its training programs, courses, conferences, workshops, seminars and publications.
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