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Board of Appeal and Equalization Handbook <br />County commissioners appoint a Special Board of Equalization: The county board of any county may appoint a Special <br />Board of Equalization and delegate its powers and duties to this special board. The special board of equalization serves <br />at the direction and discretion of the appointing county board, and is subject to the restrictions imposed by law on the <br />appointing board. The appointing board may determine the number of members to be appointed to the special board, <br />the compensation and expenses to be paid, and the term of office of each member. At least one member of the special <br />board must be an appraiser, real estate agent, or other person familiar with property valuations in the county. For a <br />special board, the county auditor is a nonvoting member and serves as the recorder. <br />When a quorum is not present <br />Each year, there are numerous complaints from property owners who have taken time off from work –or simply taken <br />their personal time –to attend a board meeting only to find that the meeting cannot take place due to the lack of a <br />quorum. <br />When a local board does not meet because a majority of the members are not present, it sends a message to property <br />owners that the board does not value their time. Italsosendsthemessagethattheboarddoesnottakethe <br />responsibility of serving as the Local Board of Appeal and Equalizationseriously. <br />Rather than simply sending home angry and frustrated property owners, the assessor changes the format to an “open <br />book” meeting. Property owners can discuss their issues one-on-one with the assessor or the assessor’s staff. If they are <br />not satisfied with the outcome, they can appeal to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization. This assures that the <br />time property owners set aside to appeal to the local board is not wasted. <br />If a county or special board of appeal and equalization fails to satisfy quorum or training requirements, owners and taxpayers <br />who would have appealed to the board can appeal to the Commissioner of Revenue before August 1. A fee of $500 per tax <br />parcel that is appealed will be assessed to thecounty. <br />Arrive on time for the meeting <br />It is also very important that the board members and all required attendees (county assessor, local assessor, clerk, <br />auditor, etc.) arrive at the meeting on time and that the meeting begins at the scheduled time. This shows respect for <br />the people who are appealing to the board, and also shows that their time is valued. <br />31 <br /> <br />