President’s Perspective

By Patrick Chapman, SAMA Ramsey County MAAO President

“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty in Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity in Every Difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

I would like to thank all the members of MAAO for electing me president. I look forward to working with all the executive board members, MAAO members and the regional directors of the next year. We have a challenge Infront of us, but it is a great opportunity to grow. We will meet this challenge.

To let you know a bit about myself. I am currently working for Ramsey County Assessor’s office as the Residential Supervisor. We have a 23-person section that handles all 148,000 residential parcels for value and classification. I have been in this office for 13 years. Prior to working at Ramsey County, I was a fee appraiser in the metro area. I am also proud to say that I am a veteran of the US Army and was on active duty from 1987 to 1991 and was with the Minnesota National Guard from 1991 to 1997. I have many interests and most of them involve the outdoors, softball, hunting and fishing just to name a few.

Since being elected president I have been working on several things, mostly involving decisions on classes. I know around the state there is a wide opinion on the way that classes should be held. I will listen to all the opinions and try to make good decisions that will work for the whole of MAAO. We have challenges in front of us that none of us were really expecting. Have faith that we will make decisions that we feel are the best for all concerned.

We had an executive board meeting recently in Grand Rapids Minnesota. Like most of our events these days it was a hybrid meeting. I think this will become the norm for us as we move forward. We need to find ways to stay together and be apart. We will ensure that the classes can meet social distance guidelines and be remote whenever we can. Making classes virtual is a huge undertaking. There is no quick way to get some of this done and it will take some time and effort to make strides forward. The effort that went into last year’s Summer Seminar was tremendous. We were able to host some classes and get them done so our members could have the education they needed as the licensing cycle was coming to a close. I would like to personally thank Emily Squires for her effort in the area. She was brilliant in facilitating this effort. Other people that I would like to shine a light on were Brett Hall, Dan Squires,

John Conway, Bob Thompson,

and Anthony Cortilet. These individuals stepped up and walked into the unknown of the virtual classroom. Thank you to all of them for responding so swiftly to the call for action in our organization’s time of need.

The MAAO is made up of several great committees. They drive the work that our organization does. I would like all of you to look at the webpage and look at the list of committees and see if there is something on there that you want to get involved with. I do have one chairperson that would like to step down and that would leave an

opportunity for someone to take over the nomination committee as Michelle Snobl would like to move on from that committee. Their work is to help find and facilitate our elected positions and is a great way for someone to get involved with MAAO. Other committees may be looking for members so take a look and take a chance to get involved.

The legislative session was long this year and in talking with our legislative liaison, Matt Hilgart, the session was one out of the norm. With COVID-19 affecting everything it made this a challenging year for the legislature. In the end we did get an abbreviated tax bill and it made the short-term rental part of the 4(b)1 residential class. It additionally allowed for a one-time transfer of a disabled veteran exclusion to the surviving spouse. We look forward to another legislative season on the horizon.

As some of you know I am also on the designation committee. This committee is instrumental in providing classes and content for members to be successful in the pursuit of their AMA designation. Last year were we able to give the seminar remotely and provide the information needed. We hope to be able to do things in person this year but are ready to pivot at a moment’s notice if we need to be remote. I would ask all members to please maintain your flexibility as we are reacting to the situation as it develops. If you need any help reach out to our committee and we can get you the help you need.

I really want to mention the job that was done by my predecessor. Daryl Moeller did an outstanding job with the worst possible situation. At the beginning of the pandemic, he had to deal with situations that were unconscionable just weeks earlier. The care and integrity in which he made some very thoughtful decisions was impressive. I would call on all of you to thank Daryl for the job he did holding our organization together. He was able to get Summer Seminar virtual in a couple of short months and find a hybrid option for the fall conference that worked for the whole state. MAAO will be in debt to Daryl for some time to come. And I want to personally say thank you.

We don’t know the future, but we can learn from the past. Know that we must be flexible. This is what I have planned for the next year. Please join me as we navigate some uncharted waters and hit some really big waves. I am looking forward to the opportunities that the next year will offer our organization. I cannot wait to see how all of you great people rise and respond. I am extremely proud of this organization and all its members. I know we will be stronger on the other side of this challenge. I look forward to the time when we can all be together again. Until that moment revel in the opportunity provided by challenge.

I hope all of you stay healthy and safe.

Patrick Chapman, SAMA President MAAO