In the Noem Administration’s effort to trick us all into thinking that Governor Kristi Noem’s heavy-handed intervention in her daughter Kassidy Peters’s real estate appraiser certification application did not involve any special treatment for the Governor’s daughter, Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman said that the remediation plan that the Department gave to struggling applicant Peters was not unique:
…there were three appraisers, including Ms. Peters, who entered into similar agreements with the state, and… those three occurred over the last few years… [Sec. Marcia Hultman, letter to Speaker Spencer Gosch and Senator Kyle Schoenfish, 2021.11.16, in Austin Goss, “Gov. Noem’s Daughter to Quit Appraisal Job, Training Agreement Turned Over,” KSFY, 2021.11.16].
Just three such agreements over the last few years? Hmmm… something that happens maybe once a year sounds at least unusual, if not special.
To appraiser Amy Frink, who vice-presides over the Professional Appraiser Association of South Dakota, such an agreement sounds really unusual:
Amy Frink is the vice president of the Professional Appraiser Association of South Dakota. She’s been an appraiser in northeast South Dakota since 1997 and has experience with the South Dakota Appraiser Advisory Council. Frink has trained three appraiser apprentices. She says she’s never seen a stipulation agreement.
“I don’t have any personal experience with it. I’ve never heard the term before,” Frink says. “Having been to many advisory council meetings and having been through this process several times, it’s not a term I’ve ever heard used.”
Frink says the typical document used to overcome problems with an appraiser’s license application is an “agreed disposition.”
Agreed dispositions are like a second chance for appraiser certification applicants — they’re an agreement in lieu of being denied a certification upgrade.
It gives applicants a chance to fix things in their application, as well as take a few more hours of course work, and then resubmit their application [Lee Strubinger, “Industry Official Says She’s ‘Never Heard’ of Document Disclosed in Noem Appraiser Controversy,” SDPOB, 2021.11.18].
The Department of Labor and Regulation assures us nothing unusual happened:
Dawn Dovre is a spokesperson for the department.
“For DLR’s purposes, the terms ‘stipulation agreement’ and ‘agreed disposition’ are basically the same. The terms ‘stipulation agreement’ or ‘agreed disposition’ may be used interchangeably,” Dovre said in email. “As in this context they are documents that simply set forth what is being agreed to between the applicant and the program” [Strubinger, 2021.11.18].
It’s bad enough Team Noem is having to spend so much time explaining away accusations of nepotism. Now they’re having to explain their explanations. Maybe Team Noem needs an agreed disposition or stipulated agreement or some kind of remediation plan to improve their performance.
I say we just scrap this whole Real Estate Appraiser system entirely. Frankly, they are a bogus “profession.” Wipe them from the map, and then let the free market take its course and if moron make bad decisions, well…it won’t be the first time.
I expect a bill to abolish the entire profession to get a lot of traction in the legislatures during the coming sessions. Everybody is really sick of hearing about this.
Grudz, your thought is moronic. It would collapse the real estate market in South Dakota, and seriously damage the banksters (begrudgingly admitting we need some of them). The hallmark of capitalist societies is the recognition of “property rights”. (Though in reality you don’t “own” your house nor me mine, we merely possess a right of first refusal and limited uses of the property. Doubt it? Try NOT paying your annual rent (aka property taxes) then see just who “owns” what. Even if you “own” your house free and clear – you don’t really “own” it because you’re liable for annual rent via property tax.) The sovereign government is the real owner and will put your/my house to the “highest and best use” if you fail paying your annual rent (property tax). If South Dakota messed up the integrity of the property appraisal system it’s likely the Federal Reserve banking system would shut out loans for local banks against real estate.
The property rights system requires a semblance of honesty, trust, believably to survive as a capitalistic, ordered, civil society. Absent that order, our property would be subject to the rule of the bigger gun.
You and your part time governor are punching above your weight class to mess with the appraiser system. Doubt it? Get an informed second opinion.
Well…we’re sick of hearing about the Governor’s basic selfish bullying and unprofessional (and yes, she is a professional politician) interference in a state certification program so, Grudznick says, we’ve got to endanger the entire real estate market of the state???…Sort of a, “the election didn’t go our way so we’ll trash the Capitol building and kill Mike Pence sort of solution”…work on your problem solving Grudz.
No, Mr. John, my thought is well thought out, and I suspect it may get some traction. Mr. Blundt, blah blah blah.
GOATS! grudznick does get them, and on the Second Night of the Beaver Moon, the goats are fatter than ever.
Ditto, John. Is Grudz not aware of the guarantee function the federal government has in housing mortgages and what role they play in the real estate market in SD? Do he and the Gov not comprehend how important it is that South Dakota appraisers be held to the same standards that those in other states are? Has he not listened to the GOAC testimony by the appraisers themselves, who are concerned that the standards remain at a level that the feds will acknowledge as acceptable (to facilitate the guarantee function?) I know the standards of social media discourse are considerably below those of factual discourse, but come on, grudz, even the few frequent commenters here probably understand the role the feds, hated though they may be, play in the mortgage market. Aren’t you?
You are righter than right, Mr. lrads1, about the few frequent bloggers on this here blogging spot, so when grudznick baits in not just 2, but 3, count them 3, fat goats, with one blogging post, it is a banner night indeed at the grudznick abode.
Lazy, intellectually lazy, how typical of GOP, Grudz…more interested in the baiting than in the consequence to our citizens of our discussion
Now, now, let’s not all pick on Mr. G. He sees himself as Don Quixote to Kristi Noem’s Dulcinea. Not that she’ll ever appreciate it, but… he’s following his dream…
Next you’ll have the Conservatives with Common Sense calling for defunding police. It’s those new “brownies” they’ve been eating at breakfast. Liberating.
We all know that Noem’s higher educational credentials are questionable. Like mother, like daughter.
My take on all of this is that the whole thing went off kilter at the meeting when Noem was told NO. It escalated, she went ballistic, and she created a whole new set of problems because she’s use to getting her own way, right or wrong. So, here we are and we don’t want this to just go away. This is an action of extreme proportions when added to everything else this Noem has done. She’s unethical and unqualified for public office
Thank you Cory and to all the journalists, local and national, that are keeping us informed and keeping this in the light.