Wednesday, July 23, 2003
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Wednesday, July 23, 2003 |
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How to appeal your property tax reassessment By JOHN THOMPSON
You've arrived home from a long day at work and are opening the mail when an envelope from the Fayette County Tax Assessor's office catches your eye. As you gingerly open it, you notice that your property has been reassessed and its value has dramatically risen during the past year. "But," you mutter to yourself, "they don't realize my backyard was classified as a wetland by the federal government." What do you do now? According to information from the Assessor's part of the Fayette County Web page, you quickly inform the office by Aug. 5 that you want to appeal the assessment. Last year, nearly 700 residents filed an appeal or just under 2 percent of the parcel owners, said Fayette County Tax Assessors Department head Ellen Mills. The appeal must be written and must give descriptive information such as the parcel ID number or map number. It must be signed and dated and must be received by the Board of Assessors within 45 days from the date of the "Notice of Value." You must declare on what grounds you are appealing and must give your opinion of value. The appeal can also be made through arbitration. The property owner must include the same information and adhere to the 45-day time limit. Arbitration requires the taxpayer to submit a check for $67 payable to the Clerk of Superior court and be prepared to pay all or part of the fees for independent appraisers and a court-appointed referee. The Web site also lists several grounds for appeal including: Value. Does value given by Assessors represent what the property would sell for on the open market? Taxability. Is the property taxable or exempt? Uniformity. Has the property been valued with the same method as similar properties? Denial of exemption. Have you applied for and been denied homestead exemption or conservation use covenant? Only the person who owns the property Jan. 1 has the authority to appeal if a change was made from the prior year value or if the taxpayer filed a Return of Value with the Tax Commissioner between Jan. 1 and April 1. A Return of Value is filed between Jan. 1 and April 1 with the Tax Commissioner. A Return of Value is a declaration of value. If you change your property in any way or simply disagree with the valuation from the prior year you should file a Return of Value. The Board of Assessors is required to review their assessment and send you a "Notice of Value." A Return of Value is not an appeal, however it may give you the right to appeal later in the year. If you appeal and the Board of Assessors changes your value, you will receive a letter giving their new opinion of value. You have 21 days to file an appeal to the Board of Equalization if you are still not satisfied with the outcome. If you appeal and the Board of Assessors does not change their new assessment, they will automatically forward your appeal to the Board of Equalization. They will also send you a letter informing you of the status of your appeal. Mills said only 250 residents decided to appeal to the Board of Equalization. The Board of Equalization is a three-member panel of Fayette County taxpayers. They are appointed by the Fayette County Grand Jury and are not affiliated with the Board of Assessors. Since the board does not work under Mills' department, she could not provide an exact number of how many appeals were successful, but said many residents don't even bother showing up at the hearing. The Board of Equalization will set up an appointment with you in order to review your appeal. Their decision will override the Board of Assessors. The Board of Equalization will notify the taxpayer of their findings within 10 days of their hearing. The taxpayer has 30 days to appeal this new value to superior court if still not satisfied. A check for $67 payable to the Clerk of Superior court must be submitted along with the written appeal. Tax appeal cases are to be heard "first in line" in Superior Court. Court is usually in session in March and September of each year. Fayette County property values Agricultural property 2003 value: $189.3 million 2002 value: $178.9 million Commercial property 2003 value: $1.080 billion 2002 value: $1.043 billion Residential property 2003 value: $6.84 billion 2002 value: $6.17 billion Vehicles 2003 value: $67.08 million 2002 value: $61.66 million Industrial property 2003 value: $268.92 million 2002 value: $264.76 million
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