Assessment Matters by Valuebase.ai
83: Brad Elridge | Splitting the Pizza: Community, Exemptions, and the Case for Property Tax
Join host Will Jarvis as he sits down with Brad Elridge, county appraiser in Lawrence, Kansas, to discuss the case for property tax and how to reframe it as shared community investment. The conversation covers the challenges of vertical equity and valuing properties at both ends of the spectrum, the administrative burden of exemptions and assessment caps, the impact of declining community bonds on public attitudes toward taxation, and lessons from states like California and Florida on what happens when tax policy goes sideways. 00:00 - Introduction and Brad's background spanning private and public sector appraisal 04:22 - Rebranding property tax as shared community expenses 06:42 - Why property taxes feel more painful than income taxes and the case for monthly payments 09:47 - Progressive property taxation, vertical equity, and the challenge of valuing high-end and low-end properties 13:43 - The problem with exemptions: administrative burden, unfunded mandates, and policy creep 15:42 - Assessment caps, inequity, and lessons from California and Florida 20:42 - The need for a property tax policy playbook for policymakers 23:36 - Declining community bonds, cultural shifts, and their connection to anti-tax sentiment 26:30 - Economic signals, retail sales trends, and navigating uncertain times 29:20 - Brad's one-sentence pitch: splitting the pizza as a community
