Court clerk explains new appeals process

Rockdale County clerk of courts Ruth Wilson recently wrote a piece in the Newton Citizen describing the practical implications of House Bill 202 on property appeals.  The way she explains it is a bit clearer than the law itself!  Take a look:

Georgia legislators this year amended laws governing procedures for appealing county tax assessments on real and personal property. The changes took effect July 1.

In 2011, the clerk of Superior Court was mandated by law to provide oversight, administration and administrative assistance to the county Board of Equalization (BOE). This year, those provisions were amended, designating the clerk of Superior Court as the “appeal administrator” for the BOE and requiring the clerk to provide administrative and clerical services necessary for taxpayers to appeal decisions of the Board of Tax Assessors (BOA) affecting taxation of real and personal property...

Upon receiving the taxpayer’s notice of appeal, the BOA reviews its preliminary assessment to determine whether a correction or amendment is merited. If changes or corrections are made, the board sends a notice to the taxpayer and, if the taxpayer concurs, the appeal is dismissed and the new assessed value used for taxation purposes. Taxpayers who disagree with any changes made are required to notify the BOA within 30 days of the date the notice of change was mailed.

The BOA then has up to 90 days from the date of receipt of the taxpayer’s notice of appeal to review it and notify the taxpayer of any corrections or changes. The property valuation asserted by the taxpayer on a property-tax return or notice of appeal becomes the assessed fair-market value of the property for the tax year under appeal if the BOA fails to respond within this period. If no valuation was submitted by the taxpayer, the appeal proceeds to the BOE, which requires the BOA to forward the notice of appeal to the appeal administrator (i.e., the clerk of Superior Court) for scheduling on the BOE hearing calendar.

Within 15 days after receipt of the notice of appeal, the appeal administrator sets a date for a hearing within 30 days of the date of notification — but not earlier than 20 days — and notifies the taxpayer and BOA of the date and time for the hearing. If more than one property is under appeal, the BOE is required to consolidate the appeals in one hearing upon the request of the taxpayer. 

Alternatively, the taxpayer may appeal some assessments or issues to an arbitrator or a hearing officer (for non-homestead real property with a fair-market value in excess of $750,000 and any contiguous non-homestead real property owned by the same taxpayer or for one or more wireless properties with a value of more than $750,000). 

The process is much like a civil court hearing. The taxpayer and assessors’ board staff are required to present evidence relating to the issue on appeal, i.e., taxability, uniformity of assessment, value or denial of homestead exemption. The taxpayer has the option of presenting evidence first or waiting until assessors’ board staff concludes its presentation. Each party is typically allowed 10 minutes to present its case. The standard used for deciding issues is a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning that the party with the most convincing evidence prevails. The assessors’ board has the burden of proof for issues involving taxability but, with respect to an issue over tax exemption, the taxpayer has the burden. Either party has the right to respond to the other party’s evidence on any issue and to cross-examine all witnesses...

In Decatur, all values are determined and all appeals are handled by DeKalb County.

Governor signs property value appeal bill

Last week Gov. Nathan Deal has signed House Bill 202, a comprehensive local taxation law that modifies some appeals procedures for property taxpayers.  The new law allows taxpayers to request a “description of the methodology used by the board of tax assessors in setting the property's fair market value” after receiving their annual assessment notice.  The act also allows a taxpayer to use a privately commissioned property appraisal in support of a pending appeal.  HB 202 also provides an option to taxpayers to meet with somebody from the tax assessment office to discuss their property value within 30 days of a written request.  The law also amplifies on existing board of equalization, arbitration, and superior court appeals procedures.

Tax valuation and appeals bill passes state legislature

House Bill 202, which affects property value appeal procedures, passed the Georgia General Assembly on the final day of its session this year.  The House will transmit the bill to the governor's desk next week for his approval or veto before May 12.  HB 202 underwent significant amendments before final passage after a conference committee worked out differences between the House and Senate.  An earlier version of the bill had nine sections; the final version has 28 sections including motor vehicle, motor home, and income tax provisions that were not included in prior versions.  The portions relevant to property taxes are summarized below courtesy of the Georgia Municipal Association:

Section 5 -permits taxpayer to opt-in for electronic notice and billing of taxes at the discretion of the tax commissioner;

Section 6 -further specifies obstruction language regarding levying officers; 

Section 7 -requires levying (counties and cities) and recommending (e.g., school boards) authorities to post a on their website, if available, a report that has been required in the past; report must appear in newspaper of general circulation for one week (as opposed to two); 

Section 8 -permits taxpayers to opt-in for electronic notices and billing of ad valorem taxes; 

Section 9 -extends time for completing digest to September 1 (from August 1); -outlines requirements for penalties for incomplete or improper tax digests; -tax commissioners forfeit portions of commission depending on how long it take for proper submission; 

Section 10 -outlines joint boards of assessors between counties and the process of an intergovernmental agreement for such purposes; 

Section 11 -specifies the use of the Standard on Ratio Studies published by the International Association of Assessing Officers as tax digest in being prepared; 

Section 12 -establishes 10% penalty on assessment of unreturned personal property; -outlines a two year assessment freeze and exceptions; 

Section 13 -changes completion date for revision and assessment of returns from July 1 to July 15, except in counties where taxes collected in installments, where date remains June 1; 

Section 14 -clarifies that hearing officer method of appeal available for non-homestead property with value in excess of $750k (reduced from 1M) and for wireless property with aggregate FMV in excess of $750k (new provision for wireless property); -clarifies that methodology information may be obtained from board of assessors by way of a document request; adds enforcement mechanism for failure to comply with document requests, including assessment of attorneys’ fees;

Section 15 -defines appeal administrator for board of equalization as clerk of superior court, with distinct budget unit for such duties; -establishes 12 month document retention period; -sets standards for board of equalization members; -outlines process for appeals; -board of equalization must decide each case at end of hearing prior to proceeding to next appeal, written decision hand delivered to parties; 

Section 16 -outlines nonbinding arbitration process (replacing binding arbitration process) and process of appeals to superior court, including settlement conference; -establishes uniform superior court filing fee of $25.00; -lowers threshold for mandatory attorneys’ fees on commercial property from 80% to 85% (now the same for all real property) 

Section 17-RESERVED 

Section 18 -specifies that each digest shall be accompanied by all documents, statistics, and certifications relating to parcels under appeal; -removes penalty for deviation from assessment ratio appearing in subparagraph (b) for digests after 1/1/2016...

HB 202 does not directly affect Decatur's procedures for property tax billing, although affects certain assessment calculations and appeals options which can affect property owners county and city bills.