Taxpayers have right to fair appraisals on land purchases
The property's price is the subject of a questionable appraisal that was kept secret until after the sale was completed in 2003. Last week, the state attorney general's office announced it was pursing misconduct charges against the appraiser in the deal. The Cargill land sale is a key example of why appraisals should be made public at least two weeks before a significant land acquisition is completed at taxpayer expense. The state may have overpaid for the land by as much as $50 million. And with a $5 billion parks-and-water bond headed for the November ballot, along with $37 billion in bonds for state infrastructure improvements, more sunshine is needed to ensure taxpayers are not duped in any land purchases funded by the bonds. An inflated appraisal not only affects the price of a single deal, but also artificially raises the cost of future land purchases. When Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for governor, he agreed that public contracts should be released before the state buys land for open space or wildlife habitat. But he has failed to mandate it even though state law allows the release of appraisals ahead of time. As a way to bolster confidence in the coming bond elections, the Legislature should make early disclosure the law. Environmental and taxpayer groups support public disclosure prior to a land purchase. Although government agencies argue that the early release of appraisals would hurt land sales, taxpayer confidence should win out. A review of the Cargill land purchase, in which the state paid $100 million and the federal government gave the company a $143 million tax write-off, makes a strong case for a law. An analysis of the appraisal by Mercury News reporter Paul Rogers found that it was nearly 3 years old at the time of the sale, despite federal rules requiring appraisals to be updated annually. The land value also was appraised using outdated development information, which inflated the price. None of this became public until the Mercury News forced the state to release the appraisal, which it did only after the sale was completed. The attorney general's misconduct investigation, which came long after the check to Cargill was cut, also found problems that could have been detected if the appraisal had been made public before the sale. The AG's office noted that the appraisal failed to adequately evaluate comparable land sales, among other things. The sale of the Cargill land will mean improved habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife. While that's good for the environment, overpaying by tens of millions of dollars is not in the interest of Californians. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/14768407.htm |
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