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| Daniel Braun, incumbent, is running for Campbell County PVA/Campbell Co. PVA office |
by Daniel Braun
Candidate for Campbell County Property Valuation Administrator
My name is Daniel Braun, and I am the Property Valuation Administrator in Campbell County. I have served the people of Campbell County as PVA for the past 12 years, following 6 years of working for the county and state.
 Since becoming PVA in December 2002, I have worked diligently to improve the office of the PVA. In the past 12 years, I have made the office much more customer friendly. My staff is knowledgeable in all areas of the office and makes sure customer service is our top priority. I have made advances in technology to maintain and up-to-date and accurate database of property information as well as mapping information for the county. I have put this information on the internet as well at www.campbellcountykypva.org and through a partnership with Link-GIS, online mapping is available at www.linkgis.org. All of this information is available online free of charge.
In the 12 years I have served Campbell County, I have brought fair & equal assessing to the entire county through changes in field work and by giving my staff the necessary training to do their jobs properly. All the improvements I have made have been to better serve the citizens of Campbell County, and I am proud of the accomplishments of my staff and my office. I work closely with the county clerk, sheriff, fiscal court, and other local agencies to help improve service for the county.
I am up for election in November along with many other candidates for office. I want to thank the voters for my win in the recent primary election and ask for your continued support on November 4th.
My opponent has no experience in property tax and no qualifications to be PVA, and has chosen to take the path of lies and misinformation. She has accused me of using the state owned office vehicles for personal use after hours during my campaign. These vehicles are kept at the county administration building after hours so the public is ensured that they are being used properly and kept safe after hours. She has accused my father of attempting to avoid capital gains taxes on the sale of his office building, a capital gain or loss is simply the difference in the price paid for the property versus the price obtained at the sale. The assessment has no bearing on capital gains tax, yet my opponent has claimed that I lowered the value of the building so that my father could avoid capital gains tax. The value was lowered to the stated deed sale price, which by law is the value in Kentucky.
The most telling claim from her campaign is that I personally lowered the value of my home from $312,050 down to $125,000. State statute KRS 133 makes it so that the board of assessment appeals determines the value of my and my deputies homes. Unlike the the citizenry at large, I and my deputies’ properties within the county are reviewed every year. The board then adjusts the values according to what they believe the value of the properties to be. The board of appeals operates independently of the PVA office and its 3 members are appointed by the Judge Executive, Fiscal Court, and the mayor of the largest city by assessment, which is Ft. Thomas.
Unfortunately, when my home was built, the drainage pipes under the house were not put in properly thus allowing water to run under the house instead of being drained away from it. This caused the clay under the house to dampen & swell, pushing the house up in the center. A large hole was also found in the footer of the home allowing water to run in below ground level under the foundation. For over 3 years, the builder has been working, along with an engineering firm, to find and solve the problem. At this point, my homeowner’s insurance has not been affected, since the builder is currently paying for all repairs. We currently live in the home, since we have no other option. Given the nature of the problem, along with 3 years worth of engineering reports showing the damage and movement of my foundation, the board of appeals felt the assessment of my home was not what I paid for it in 2007. I have had 6 licensed Realtors and 2 licensed appraisers give their professional opinion that the house could not be sold in its current condition for anywhere near a fair market value.Â
These accusations serve to illustrate that my opponent has no knowledge of how the office of PVA operates. Her statements of improving the office to better serve the citizens of Campbell County ring false when she doesn’t understand the basic functions of the office that she seeks. Campbell County does not need someone unethical and inexperienced serving as one of their elected officials. I have over 18 years experience with state and local government in the field of property tax and have served for the past 12 years as PVA in Campbell County. On November 4th, the choice for PVA is clear, and I thank you all for your support as you re-elect me PVA for a fourth term.
Click here for Andrea Janovic’s op-ed on the office of the PVA.