After six years as St. Lucie County property appraiser, former President of the Florida Senate Ken Pruitt will leave the Property Appraiser's Office in January with an achievement that only 35 of 13,000 assessment jurisdictions in the nation have ever realized. His office has won the highly coveted Certificate of Excellence in Assessment Administration (CEAA).
Those in the property appraising business say the CEAA is the most important recognition an assessment jurisdiction can hope to achieve. According to Ron Worth, executive director of the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), which administers the CEAA, Pruitt's office claimed the certificate in lightning time.
Worth told Sunshine State News it's "almost unheard of" for a jurisdiction to achieve certification in the first year it submits; usually property appraisers have to try anew each year for a number of years before they are successful. "But St. Lucie County did it first time," Worth said. "... Quite amazing."
"Receiving the CEAA is an enormous achievement," Worth said. "So much is involved for a property appraisal staff -- the paperwork alone is staggering. But this is a certification of excellence," he said. It's worth it. It's a way for an office to find out where it falls short."
The certificate will be presented to Pruitt's office and 5 other jurisdictions in a formal ceremony Aug. 31 in Tampa, during the 82nd Annual Conference.
Calvin A. Kent, Ph.D., former dean of the College of Business at Marshall University, also weighed in. He calls the CEAA the “highest professional honor for an assessment jurisdiction.” Those who receive it, he says, are the “elite of the assessment business. ... Achieving the CEAA is not easy; if it were, it would have no value.”
Mary Odom, director of library services for the IAAO, explains, "Because the program is directed at an entire jurisdiction rather than an individual, the requirements place a strong emphasis on teamwork and group achievement. Jurisdictions that earn this designation have demonstrated a high level of proficiency in the assessment disciplines to both their constituents and their peers."
Pruitt joins another Treasure Coast property appraiser in achieving this recognition -- 24-year veteran Martin County appraiser Laurel Kelly. Kelly’s office was awarded the CEAA in 2015.
Asked to comment on how his office achieved such a lofty recognition in so short a time, Pruitt gave much of the credit to the professionals in his office.
“I am blessed to work with an amazing and dedicated group of public servants," he said. "Together we have achieved a great deal over the last six years."
IAAO is a nonprofit, educational, and research association that conducts the application assessment and review process for the CEAA. It is a professional membership organization of government assessment officials and others interested in the administration of the property tax.
Pruitt, who will not seek reelection in 2016, has achieved a great deal during his tenure as St. Lucie County property appraiser.
In 2014, his office was the only assessment jurisdiction in the world to win the prestigious IAAO Distinguished Jurisdiction Assessment Award, given for the cutting edge technological advancements made in his office. At the time, David Reed, chapter affiliate representative manager, speaking from the IAAO's Kansas City headquarters, told Sunshine State News the award is exceedingly rare, "a little like getting a Pulitzer Prize."
In addition, each year since 2011, the office has earned the prestigious “Best Places to Work in St. Lucie County” recognition, a tribute to the positive work environment the office's 70 professionals enjoy.
Pruitt is ending an exemplary public service career this year. He served almost 20 years in the state Legislature, culminating in his service as Senate president from 2006-2008. He has served as St. Lucie County property appraiser since 2010.
In fact, few lawmakers have amassed so impressive a string of legislative achievements as Ken Pruitt.
Nearly three decades of public service and an incredible list of accomplishments for the community include the Bert Harris Private Property Rights Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, Bright Futures scholarships, community college reform, bringing biotech to St. Lucie County, modernizing infrastructure in Port St. Lucie, the Crosstown Parkway, a strong impact on the Tradition footprint, public school infrastructure investment, the rescue of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, the LORS and ACCELER8 programs, the original Lake Okeechobee restoration plan, Indian River State College St. Lucie West campus named the Ken Pruitt Campus in his honor, and much more. All before building the St. Lucie Property Appraiser's Office into a nationally recognized and acclaimed operation.
Pruitt will have more time to devote to his Tallahassee lobbying firm, The P5 Group, in January. But he knows he leaves behind an outstanding professional staff at the St. Lucie Property Appraiser's Office. "These folks can do anything," he says.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
