Thursday’s Atlanta
Journal-Constitution reported on boards of equalization that have
experienced a sharp rise in property value appeals throughout metro-Atlanta. The article also described DeKalb County’s “calendar-call
format” for BOE hearings:
Instead of an appointment-based system that gave appealing property owners an assigned time to report for their case, [Cobb County] changed the format to a calendar-call system that requires scores of property owners to sign in so their appeals can be heard on a first-come, first-served basis…
Like Cobb, DeKalb County also adopted the calendar-call format to accommodate the extra BOE work.
“It wasn’t popular, but it is what it is,” said Debra DeBerry, the county’s Superior Court clerk. “That way you don’t lose any of your hours to no-shows, and we had large numbers of no-shows here.”
Based on its population, DeKalb is authorized to operate 13 BOEs, but it only uses between three and six panels because there isn’t space to accommodate more, DeBerry said. The BOEs have heard about 14,600 appeals for 2011.
DeBerry asked for additional funding for the BOE budget this year but didn’t get her full request. DeKalb’s BOE office budget is $442,000, including $240,000 for member salaries. She has also asked for additional operating space.
The AJC’s full article here
may give local taxpayers some additional insight into how their BOE appeals are
being handled, and what the BOE workload means for county budgets.
I am not sure why [Cobb County] changed the format. Calendar-call format is the best in my oppinion.
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It is quite interesting that they changed the format. I had one friend who appealed the value of his property after the threat of an IRS wage levy. Thanks for sharing.
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