Spring 2024 FCIAAO Newsletter

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

2024

This year’s Florida Chapter of the IAAO 36th Annual Conference and Business Meeting held in Orlando, Florida at the Doubletree Universal Studios hit the all-time attendance record for an annual conference. Prior to COVID, at the 2018 Conference in Kissimmee, the attendance record stood at 324 attendees. Last year’s conference in St. Petersburg was the highest attenance since the year of COVID. Record attendance and sold-out vendor hall highlight Chapter success On Thursday, our four Steering Committees put on a great day of sessions for our attendees. The Real Property track spotlighted issues such as Short Term Rentals, Agricultural Land Use Trends, and Improving Success at Tax Appeal Hearings. The day ended with a roundtable discussion regarding Unrecorded Documentary Stamps and the possible effects on the market or lost revenue to the State. The Exemptions track had a busy day as well with a variety of topics. The first session addresses the Refugee Resettlement Program and those individuals could qualify for Homestead Exemption. Other sessions included how to develop an electronic mail system internally and with the

public. After lunch, Loren Levy, of the Levy Law Firm, presented on the Live Local Affordable Housing Statutes. Rounding out the day of Exemption sessions was a roundtable discussion regarding Portability and administering exemptions. The IT/GIS tracks were highly attended this year as they covered topics which included: Defending Commercial Valuations with AI, Proposing an Inter-County Portability Process, tow to adopt drones into the Property Appraiser’s Office and damage assessment tools and technology. The final session was a roundtable which highlighted the current state of Cyber Security. The Admin track, targeted to those on the administrative side of the office, presented session topics which included how to grow leaders in your organization,

external communication strategies, how to set your office apart to attract good job candidates and how to build a strong foundation with new hires during the onboarding process. The final session of the day focused on streamlining and improving office processes with artificial intelligence tools. Thursday night the Annual Business Meeting and Banquet took place where we recognized outstanding members and installed the 2024-2025 Florida Chapter Executive Board. Stay tuned to for our Summer Issue for coverage on the newly elected President and Board. Friday morning kicked off with a Networking breakfast before the start of the final sessions of the conference. Ana Torres, legal counsel for Orange County PA, presented on recent court decisions related to Property Tax and the Hon. Mike Twitty from Pinellas County reviewed the bills in this year’s session that may impact our offices.

Attendence History

337

2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015

319

225 223

No Conference COVID

297

324

272

182

170

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

3

STAYING APPRA I SED

SPRING 2024