An exchange of information is required between people challenging assessments and the appraiser. Some want to make it optional.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published July 28, 2003
Got a gripe about the tax appraisal of your property? Get ready to provide your ammo up front - and in writing.
Under a new state law, people challenging a property appraiser's assessment must submit all of their evidence, including summaries of anticipated witness testimony, at least 10 business days before their hearing with a special master.
The property appraiser then has five days to provide his or her evidence to the challenger.
The law provides for the information exchange so both sides know what to expect at the hearing, said Dave Bruns, spokesman for the state's Department of Revenue.
Despite the wording of the statute, however, Bruns believes lawmakers intended for the information-swapping to be optional. He said the department will propose a rule allowing challengers to decide whether they want to trade information with the property appraiser.
In the meantime, as it's worded now, Pasco County Property Appraiser Mike Wells fears the new law will intimidate everyday residents, who often make informal presentations to the special master with a few photographs and hand-written notes.
"I hope I'm wrong on this," said Wells, who saw about 200 appeals from homeowners last fall. "But my hunch is, this new process may be so cumbersome that many citizen property owners will just throw their hands up and say, "To heck with it."'
Every property owner receives a Truth in Millage (or TRIM) notice in August showing the appraised value of their property and the proposed taxes for the coming year. Any appeal must be filed within 25 days of receiving that notice.
The new law, which went into effect July 1, grew out of the recommendations from a Department of Revenue task force.
Tax representatives - the hired guns who argue for lower tax assessments for their corporate clients - pressed for the law, saying it would ensure a timely exchange of information before the hearing.
Some property appraisers' offices agreed.
"This clearly defines where everyone stands," said Les Cook, director of real property in Citrus County, where about 50 cases a year go to a special master. "It's not a big issue until you get to the bigger commercial properties, and you show up at a hearing and evidence appears that no one has seen before."
But the Florida Association of Property Appraisers lobbied against the bill last year, saying the measure could intimidate residents and overwhelm the property appraisers' offices.
"It helps the tax representatives, the larger corporations," said association president Villie Smith, the property appraiser in Marion County. "If they file 100 petitions on various properties, then the property appraiser has only five days to respond with their information (on 100 cases)."
"They want to snooker the appraisers," added Pinellas County Property Appraiser Jim Smith, whose office sees fewer than 1,000 appeals a year. "They try to overload us with a lot of work to get the edge on us. It's the little guy that pays."
The Hillsborough County Property Appraiser's office expects the opposite effect, however. With the evidence now required up front, tax representatives won't be able to file superfluous challenges just to waste property appraisers' time, said Warren Weathers, Hillsborough's chief deputy property appraiser.
"There were some (tax representatives) that might file 100 cases, then only produce evidence toward a hearing on two or three and let the rest drop," Weathers said. "It was a way to deploy a smokescreen."
Hillsborough saw 306 residential and 679 commercial property challenges last year.
The new measure should not burden everyday residents, however, Bruns said. The legislature's intent, he said, was to require the property appraiser to provide information within five days only if the challenger wanted it.
"Our view is that the statute is triggered only if a taxpayer wishes to see the evidence that the property appraiser has," he said.
The department will clarify that issue along with questions of what qualifies as evidence, how long witness summaries must be, and so on, in a rule that would come before the governor and the cabinet for approval, Bruns said.
The best bet for avoiding confusion?
Before filing any appeal, people should sit down with the property appraiser's staff to discuss the assessment, Pinellas appraiser Jim Smith said. If residents can provide new information about the property, the appraiser can adjust the value on the spot and save everyone the hassle of a formal hearing, he said.
As for the new law, Pasco appraiser Wells said he tried to have the measure repealed this past legislative session, and will continue the effort next year.
"This is America," Wells said. "Everybody ought to be allowed to complain about their taxes."
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
