2. SR 04-12-2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Board of Appeal and Equalization Handbook What the board can’t do The board can’t consider prior year assessments. The Board of Appeal and Equalization does not have the authority in any year to reopen former assessments on which taxes are due and payable. The board considers only the assessments that are in process in the current year. Occasionally, a property owner may appear with a tax statement and protest the taxes or assessment of the previous year. The board should explain tactfully that it does not have the authority to consider such matters.After taxes have been extended, adjustments can be made only by the process of application for abatement or by legalaction. The board can’t reduce the aggregate assessment by more than 1 percent. Although the both Local and County Boards of Appeal and Equalization have the authority to increase or reduce individual assessments, the County Board alone can increase or reduce the assessments of an entire class of property. However the total of all adjustments for both local and county boards must not reduce the aggregate assessment of the jurisdiction by more than 1 percent. The “aggregate assessment” is the total EMV that the board has the authority to change, i.e. thetotal EMV of assessments within the jurisdiction excluding state assessed property. Forexample, if the total EMV of a jurisdiction is $2,000,000, the board cannot reduce the total EMV of the jurisdiction by more than $20,000. This means the EMV after all board actions must be at least $1,980,000. If the total amount of adjustments made by the board does lower the aggregate assessment by more than 1 percent, none of the adjustments will be allowed. This limitation does not apply, however, to the correction of clerical errors or to the removal of duplicate assessments. Clerical errors are limited to errors made by someone performing a clerical function during the course of the actual assessment. Examples of clerical errors are errors such as transposing numbers or mathematical errors. Errors that occur when making estimations during the inspection and appraisal process (judgment errors) are not considered to be clericalerrors. The board can’t exempt property. The Board of Appeal and Equalization does not have the authority to grant an exemption or to order property removed from the tax rolls. A member of the board can’t make changes to property in which he/she has a conflict of interest or financial interest. If a property being appealed is owned by a board member, a board member’s spouse, parent, stepparent, child, stepchild, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece, by blood or marriage, the board member is prohibited from participating in the actions of the board for that appeal. The board member is also prohibited from participating in an appeal of a property in which a board member has a financial interest. If the remaining members constitute a quorum, the board may vote on the action with the compromised board member abstaining from the vote. Otherwise, or if the board wishes to prevent any perception of preferential treatment, it should mark “No change” on the record form for the meeting. The taxpayer will be eligible to appeal to the next appeal level (County Board, TaxCourt). The board can’t grant special program status. If a property owner is appealing for enrollment in special programs that require an application (e.g. Green Acres), they must follow the proper application procedure. The localand countyboard can’t make changes benefiting a property owner who refuses entry by the assessor. The board may not make an individual market value adjustment or classification change that would benefit the property in cases where the owner or other person having control over the property will not permit the assessor to inspect the property and the interior of any buildings or structures. It seems obvious that for an assessor to make a fair and knowledgeable value estimate, he/she must first be allowed to view the entire property. Until such access is granted, theboard should not grant a value reduction. The local board can’t order percentage increases or decreases for an entire class of property.Thecounty board can’t add properties to the assessment list. It can request that the auditor place such omitted properties on the tax rolls. 18