Join host Will Jarvis as he sits down with Ellen Brideau, a veteran Massachusetts assessor with 20 years in the field and roots in assessment going back to the early 1980s. Ellen shares her perspective on why annual reassessments lead to fairer outcomes, makes a case for broadening the tax base by reconsidering exemptions for nonprofits and institutions, and discusses the importance of good property data and letting assessors inside homes. She also touches on career advice for new professionals entering the field and previews her upcoming conference presentation on identifying and defending against AI-generated property tax appeals.

• 00:00 - Introduction and Ellen Brideau's background in Massachusetts assessing
• 01:48 - What the public most misunderstands about property taxes
• 03:30 - How Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire differ on reassessment cycles
• 05:55 - Policy ideas: broadening the tax base and reconsidering exemptions for nonprofits and institutions
• 07:48 - Assessment caps, deed-restricted affordable housing, and full market value in Massachusetts
• 09:22 - Personal lessons from a career in assessment and advice for new professionals
• 12:00 - AI-generated appeals: how Ellen was caught off guard and what she's learning

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

Join host Will Jarvis as he sits down with James Cusick, a former AT&T Bell Laboratories software engineer and adjunct faculty member at Columbia University, who found his way to property tax policy through the Henry George School in Manhattan. The conversation covers the principles of land value taxation, how a single tax on land could replace all other taxes at the local, city, and even federal level, the role of land value capture in transit-oriented development like New York's High Line and subway system, and the problem of speculative land-holding in cities like New York and Detroit. James also shares insights from Japan's public-private partnership model for rail and real estate development, and introduces the interactive tools he's built to help policymakers and the public explore Georgist economics.

• 00:00 - Introduction to Assessment Matters and guest James Cusick

• 00:37 - James's background in software engineering at Bell Labs and Columbia University
• 01:33 - Discovering the Henry George School and the concept of land value tax
• 02:42 - Building a land value tax calculator covering all U.S. counties
• 04:38 - How a single land value tax could replace all other taxes, including New York City's $125 billion budget
• 05:53 - The pitch to policymakers: simplification, administrative efficiency, and reducing speculation
• 07:42 - Land value capture examples: NYC subway system, the High Line, and Battery Park City
• 09:33 - The problem of vacant lots and speculative land-holding in cities
• 11:52 - Property tax as a "ticket to ride" for public services and the investment vs. affordability tradeoff
• 15:33 - Henry George's anti-speculation philosophy and its modern relevance
• 17:48 - Japan's public-private partnership model for rail and real estate development
• 20:19 - Where to find the Henry George School's tools: LVT calculator, Global Georgism Viewer, subway land value tool, and AI Henry George avatar