RULES OF PROCEDURE

BROWARD COUNTY VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD

CPS observations are in blue.

Much of the provisions in these Rules of Procedure do not include citations, even when the language is an exact quotation, for example 194.301. That's troubling, because there is an implied difference to a potential reader as to whether something is literally "the law" or not. And, when something literally is the law, all readers should know it. Including the appropriate citations would give notice that the language is statutory and the language should be exactly the same as and completely like the law from which it is derived. There also is a concern that anything in any local rules of procedure include provisions which are not in the statutes or Administrative Code.

I CREATION AND COMPOSITION OF THE VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD

A. The Value Adjustment Board (the “Board”) is created by F.S. 194.015, consisting of three members from the Broward County Commission and two members from the Broward County School Board.

B. A member of the Broward County Commission shall be chair of the Board.

C. A quorum shall consist of at least three members of the Board; however, the quorum shall consist of at least one member from both the School Board and the County Commission.

D. Members of the Board may be temporarily replaced by other members of the respective Boards on appointment by their respective chairs.

II FUNCTION AND AUTHORITY OF THE VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD

A. The Board shall have the authority to meet for the following purposes:

1. Hearing petitions relating to assessments filed pursuant to F.S. 194.011(3).

2. Hearing complaints relating to homestead exemptions as provided for under F.S. 196.151.

3. Hearing appeals from exemptions denied, or disputes arising from exemptions granted, upon the filing of exemption applications under F.S. 196.011.

4. Hearing appeals concerning ad valorem tax deferrals, classifications. Hearing good cause hearings pursuant to the provisions of the Florida Administrative Code 12D-10.003(8).

5. Ex Parte Contacts. For those actions of the Board which are quasi-judicial in nature, to insure that the Board review process shall occur in an atmosphere free of bias or pressure, ex parte contacts by anyone to members of the Board are prohibited.

In the event that a Board member shall receive any written, oral, graphic, or communication of any kind or nature which may directly or indirectly influence the disposition of a quasi judicial proceeding of the Board, such ex parte communication shall be forwarded to the clerk of the Board to be included in the record of the Board proceedings.

6. Time. In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which event the period shall run until the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday, nor legal holiday. When the period of time prescribed or allowed herein is less than five days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation. If the fifteenth day before a hearing is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the information herein shall be provided no later than the previous business day.

B. The Board shall have the authority to appoint special magistrates for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to the Board.

III PETITIONS

A. A petition to the Value Adjustment Board shall:

1. Be in substantially the form prescribed by the Florida Department of Revenue, and include the fee as authorized by Chapter 194, Florida Statutes.

2. Describe the property by parcel number, folio number, real estate number or personal property account number.

3. Be sworn to by the petitioner.

4. State the approximate time anticipated by the petitioner to present and argue the petition.

5. The completed petition shall be filed with the clerk of the Board. Incomplete petitions shall not be accepted. In the event that an incomplete petition has been received by the clerk of the Board, such incomplete petition shall be returned to the petitioner with a notation that the petition may not be accepted in its incomplete form.

6. Be filed in compliance with the filing requirements set forth in F.S. 193.052, as related specifically to commercial personal property. Requests for Good Cause hearings on exemption, classification, and value issues, shall be filed by December 31 of the current tax year. Good Cause requests filed after December 31 shall be returned as untimely.

B. The individual, agent, or legal entity that signs the petition becomes an agent of the taxpayer for the purpose of serving process to obtain personal jurisdiction over the taxpayer for the entire Board proceedings, including any appeals of a Board decision by the Property Appraiser pursuant to F.S. 194.036.

C. In the event that the Value Adjustment Board shall receive multiple petitions relating to the same property the following procedures shall take place:

1. The Value Adjustment Board shall send a letter to each entity that submitted a petition asking that they resolve the conflict within the next 15 days.

2. In the event that the entities fail to satisfactorily resolve the conflict of multiple petitions, the VAB shall recognize one of the following entities as the property representative, in the order of priority set forth below:

a. Taxpayer/owner’s petition, no matter when filed; or

b. First agent to file, in the absence of filing by the taxpayer/owner.

IV. SPECIAL MAGISTRATES

A. The Board has determined to appoint special magistrates for the purpose of taking testimony and making recommendations to the Board on petitions filed pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapter 194. The Board shall designate an attorney and an appraiser as Chief Special Magistrate to perform additional duties or requests by the Board.

There is no provision for Chief Special Magistrates in the statutes. There is nothing in this document indicating criteria for someone to be selected, or a selection process for that person, let alone the requirement that the person be proficient in assessment. The statutes provide for an advisor to the VAB, but in a very different context than what this person in this position appears to be doing. And, to the extent his review of decisions is not based upon the standards of assessment, another burden is place on taxpayers.

B. Special magistrates shall be selected from a list of those qualified individuals who are willing to serve as special magistrates for the Board.

1. It is the Board’s policy to recruit individuals who are interested in serving as special masters in full compliance with the provisions of Chapter 16½, “Human Rights” Code of Broward County, Florida. The clerk of the Board shall take the necessary steps to inform all qualified individuals of the availability of such opportunities through the use of the medium including, but not limited to, newspapers, professional newsletters, and professional associations.

C. Qualifications for Special Magistrates:

1. Primary office and residence shall be in Broward County at all times that the special magistrates are performing their duties for the Board.

Contradicts the statutes, which does not limit residence or place of business within any county. Broward suggests they do not have enough applicants, so the purpose of having qualified persons is diminished. The real idea of having licensed persons hearing petitions is to have people who know the standards of assessment.

2. Special magistrates shall not be elected or appointed officials or employees of a taxing authority or of the state.

3. Appraiser special magistrate shall be a state certified real estate appraiser with not less than five years experience in real property valuation. An appraiser special magistrate appointed to hear issues regarding the valuation of tangible personal property shall be a designated member of a nationally recognized appraiser’s organization with not less than five years experience in tangible personal property valuation.

4. Attorney special magistrates shall be members of good standing in the Florida Bar with no less than five years experience in the area of ad valorem taxation.

D. A special magistrate shall be prohibited from representing a taxpayer before the Board, or before any special magistrate, or before the Broward County Property Appraiser or any of his or her employees in any tax year during which the special magistrate serves the Board as a special magistrate.

This is excellent! It addresses a problem which is apparent in Palm Beach, where at least one special master admitted to settling cases with deputies in lieu of VAB hearings. The settlement of cases between special magistrates or their offices creates a quid pro quo.

E. Special magistrates shall be compensated at the rate of $320 per half day (four hours) and $640 per full day (eight hours) and for time in excess of either the half or full day, shall receive $80 per hour. Special magistrates shall receive a minimum guarantee of two hours compensation when scheduled by the Board. Special magistrates shall receive 24-hour notice of cancellation of their scheduled hearings or receive payment for scheduled hearings. In addition to the compensation set forth herein, the chief special magistrate shall receive a $2,000.00 per year stipend for performing the duties of chief special magistrate which shall be paid at the rate of $333.33 per month during the height of the VAB tax cycle which runs from November through April.

V. SPECIAL MAGISTRATE HEARINGS:

A. Hearings shall be scheduled by the Board staff before either an appraiser special magistrate or an attorney special magistrate depending on the nature of the issue(s) raised by the petition.

B. Notice of Hearing shall be sent by the clerk of the Board. The notice shall be in writing and delivered by regular mail, so the notice shall be received by the taxpayer no less than 25 calendar days prior to the day of the scheduled hearing.

"Sent by the clerk" does NOT include the clerk's scheduling of the hearing dates and selecting the petitions to be scheduled. I know at least one Broward deputy who is selecting dates and which petitions will be heard on those dates - it should not be permitted because it enables the PA to have an influence over the process and they can track the rotations of the masters.

The Notice of Hearing shall include a copy of the property card containing relevant information used in computing the current assessment if such card was requested by the taxpayer and is kept in the normal course of business by the property appraiser. The petition form shall include a box which may be checked by the taxpayer in order to request the property card.

C. Petitioners may be represented by an attorney or agent, but a petitioner shall not be required to retain the services of an attorney or agent and may represent their his or her own interests. If someone other than the taxpayer or an attorney appears on behalf of the petitioner, such person shall provide, prior to the onset of the hearing, authorization in writing from the taxpayer evidencing such person’s authority to appear on the taxpayer’s behalf. The special magistrate shall have the authority to hear a petition, contingent on proper authorization being submitted prior to the final decision.

"Authorizations" are not required by statute, and should not be, at least not when Florida licensees are involved. Swearing to the petition is enough to put one's license on the line, and it is discrimination not to require the same criteria of attorneys.

D. The property appraiser, or its authorized representative, may be, but need not be, represented by an attorney in defending the property appraiser’s assessment or opposing an exemption.

E. The special magistrate shall call the cases on the agenda; however, the special magistrate shall not be bound by the order in which the cases appear on the agenda.

F. A petitioner shall not be required to wait for more than four hours from the scheduled hearing time. If a petition is not heard in the four hour period of time, the petitioner may report to the special magistrate that he or she intends to leave; and if the petitioner is not heard immediately, the petitioner’s administrative remedies will be deemed to have been exhausted, and the petitioner may seek such further relief as petitioner deems appropriate. Alternatively, following a wait of four hours or more, the petitioner may request the Board staff to reschedule the petitioner’s hearing for another day. If a petitioner leaves a scheduled meeting for undue delay, the special magistrate is not precluded from considering the petition.

Four hours is part of an old statute, which had two parts. The other part was found to be unconstitutional and was removed from statutory language. This is a carry-over, that is not intended for the current ways Hearings are scheduled and conducted. The original intent was related to taxpayer's right to appeal to circuit court if they did not have a VAB hearing. And, currently, it is abusive to say someone has to wait four hours - and is abused in Palm Beach! I think it also contradicts s. 192.0105 F.S. regarding the right of taxpayers to have hearings "on time".

G. If after notice of hearing a party does not appear, the hearing may be conducted and the special magistrate may, based on the evidence submitted, make recommendations to the Board in the absence of the party.

H. A verbatim record of the proceedings shall be made by digital recording and shall be retained by the clerk of the Board for a period of not less than four years. In addition, the clerk shall retain and index to the verbatim record all documentary evidence. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit any party from providing a court reporter for the proceedings.

I. All testimony shall be under oath; provided, however, if a person refuses to be sworn for any reason whatsoever, the special magistrate shall not assign unsworn testimony the same weight or credibility as sworn testimony in its deliberations.

J. Subsequent to the mailing or sending of the Notice of Hearing, and at least 15 calendar days before the scheduled hearing, the petitioner shall provide to the property appraiser, through the Board staff, a list and summary of evidence to be presented at the hearing. The list and summary must be accompanied by copies of documentation to be presented at the hearing. The summary shall be sufficiently detailed as to reasonably inform a party of the general subject matter of the witness’ testimony, and the name and address of the witness.

K. No later than 7 days before the hearing, if the property appraiser receives the petitioner’s documentation and if requested in writing by the petitioner, the property appraiser shall provide to the petitioner, and provide a copy to the Board staff, a list and summary of evidence to be presented at the hearing The list and summary must be accompanied by copies of the documentation to be presented at the hearing. The evidence list must contain the property record card if provided by the clerk.

L. If the taxpayer does not provide the information to the property appraiser at least 10 15 days prior to the hearing pursuant to subsection J above, the property appraiser need not provide the information to the taxpayer pursuant to subsection K above.

If the property appraiser does not provide the information within the time required by subsection K above, and at least seven calendar days before the hearing, the hearing shall be rescheduled .

M. The exchange in subsections K and L above shall be delivered by regular or certified U.S. mail, personal delivery, overnight mail, FAX or e-mail. It shall be sufficient if at least three FAX or email attempts are made to such address. If more than one FAX number is provided, three (3) attempts must be made for each number to satisfy this requirement. The taxpayer and property appraiser may agree to a different timing and method of exchange. “Provided” means made available in the manner designated by the property appraiser or by the petitioner in his/her submission of information, as via email, facsimile, U.S. mail, or at the property appraiser’s office for pick up. If the petitioner does not designate his/her desired manner for receiving the property appraiser’s information, the information shall be provided by the property appraiser by depositing it in the U.S. mail.

N. The parties may call and examine witnesses, introduce evidentiary materials, cross examine witnesses and rebut evidence. The special magistrate shall not take any general action regarding compliance with the exchange of evidence requirements, but any action on each petition shall be considered on a case by case basis. Any action shall be based on a consideration of whether there has been a substantial noncompliance with the exchange requirements and shall be taken at a scheduled hearing and be based on evidence presented at such hearing. “General action” means a prearranged course of conduct not based on evidence received in a specific case at a scheduled hearing on a petition. A property appraiser shall not appear at the hearing and use undisclosed evidence that was not supplied to the petitioner as required. The normal remedy for such noncompliance shall be a rescheduling of the hearing to allow the petitioner an opportunity to review the information of the property appraiser.

O. Formal rules of evidence shall not apply, but fundamental due process shall be observed and shall govern the proceedings. All relevant evidence shall be admitted if petitioner complied with the disclosure requirement set forth above, and it is the type of evidence upon which reasonable and responsible persons would normally rely in the conduct of business affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule which might make such evidence inadmissible over objections in a trial in a court of Florida. The special magistrate may exclude irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence.

P. Hearsay evidence may be accepted for the purpose of supplementing or explaining any direct evidence, but such hearsay evidence shall not, in itself, be considered sufficient to support a finding or decision unless the evidence would be admissible, over objections, in civil actions.

Q. The special magistrate shall have the authority to ask questions at any time of either party, the witnesses, or staff.

R. At the conclusion of the presentation of the evidence and the taking of testimony, the special magistrate shall make a recommendation to the Board. The recommendation shall include ultimate and basic findings of fact. The recommendation shall include the nature of the change made and indicate the just, taxable, and exempt value before and after the change. The special magistrate’s recommendations shall be announced orally at the conclusion of the presentation; provided, however, the special magistrate may defer ruling for good cause and, in such event, the parties shall be notified by the Board staff of the special magistrate’s recommendation. The recommendations of the special magistrate shall be reduced to writing and served on the taxpayer and property appraiser. Service shall be made by delivering a copy or mailing it to the taxpayer and property appraiser. Service by mail shall be complete upon mailing.

Ruling at hearings does not provide time for special magistrates to review written evidence without distractions. The push to rule at hearings is another way of keeping the hearing officers from being educated - for they don't have the opportunities to read the case law, statutes, and even appraisals which may be presented in the evidence, and they don't have the opportunity to look at comps in compliance with 193.011. It's not in the statutes to rule at the hearings, and in my opinion should not be required or encouraged. Where it is enforced, such as in Palm Beach, it is the result of PA influence.

S. Transfer/Continuance. The petitioner shall have the right to reschedule a hearing a single time by submitting to the Board staff a written request to reschedule, no less than five calendar days before the day of the originally scheduled hearing. Any additional transfer/rescheduling request shall be made prior to the date of the scheduled hearing and shall be granted only upon proof of: (a) death in the petitioner’s immediate family; (b) medical conditions which prevent the petitioner’s appearance; (c) jury duty; (d) time-certain court appearance; (e) prepaid travel plans; (f) incarceration; or (g) failure of the property appraiser to furnish evidence as required in F.S. 194.011. If a transfer/continuance has not been granted by the Board staff pursuant to the authority specifically delegated by the Board, the hearing shall be conducted and a recommendation entered in the absence of the party.

T. The special magistrate may request legal opinions from the Office of the County Attorney. The special magistrate shall receive all testimony and evidence and prepare a written request for a legal opinion which shall state the legal issue and include the relevant facts. The special magistrate may request that information from the petitioner and property appraiser be included with the request.

V. Petitions Filed after the Statutory Deadline. Pursuant to the authority set forth in Florida Administrative Code 12D -10.003, attorney special magistrates shall review written applications from taxpayers that request the right to file a petition although the taxpayer has failed to comply with the statutory deadline. These requests are commonly referred to as Good Cause Requests.

1. In the event the attorney special magistrate concludes from the written request that the taxpayer has demonstrated good cause justifying consideration and that the delay in filing the petition will not be prejudicial to the performance of the County’s taxing process, the taxpayer shall be permitted to file the appropriate petition with the Board. A hearing shall be scheduled for a special magistrate hearing in compliance with the Value Adjustment Board rules of procedure.

2. In the event the attorney special magistrate fails to conclude from the written request that the taxpayer has demonstrated good cause justifying consideration and/or that the delay in filing the petition will be prejudicial to the performance of the County’s taxing process, the taxpayer’s application shall be scheduled for a hearing before an attorney special magistrate. The sole issue at the special magistrate hearing shall be whether the taxpayer can establish good cause to justify consideration and that the delay in filing the petition will not be prejudicial to the performance of the County’s taxing process. In the event that the special magistrate determines that the taxpayer has demonstrated good cause justifying consideration and that the delay in filing the petition will not be prejudicial to the performance of the County’s taxing process, the taxpayer shall be permitted to file the appropriate petition with the Board. A hearing shall be scheduled for a special magistrate hearing in compliance with the Value Adjustment Board rules of procedure.

VI. VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD MEETINGS

A. The Chair, or in the Chair’s absence, the Vice Chair shall approve all items placed on the agenda. The Office of the Property Appraiser shall not have the authority to place any items on the agenda without the specific approval of the Chair, or in the Chair’s absence, the Vice Chair.

How is it that the PA can put items on an agenda by the corresponding right is not given to taxpayers? This is a shocking lack of equal protection.

Board review is not in the statutes, and is not uniformly applied in Broward County, or anywhere else it is conducted. Only some of the cases are reviewed, and only some petitioners are permitted to speak. It's not due process.

B. All recommendations of the special magistrates shall be submitted to the Board for consideration and action by the Board. The Board may act on such recommendations without the necessity of further hearing. The Board may conduct a review of a recommendation upon request by a taxpayer, the property appraiser, or upon its own motion.

C. A request for review by a taxpayer or the property appraiser shall be on the form available from the Board staff and shall set forth with particularity factual or legal errors made by the special magistrate in the special magistrate’s recommendation to the Board.

D. The request for review shall be filed with the Board clerk within 15 calendar days of the date of service (i.,e., the date of mailing or delivery) of the recommendation of the special magistrate. Failure to timely file a request for review by the Board shall be deemed a waiver of the right to review.

E. The Board staff shall schedule requests for review before the Board. Notice of the scheduled request for review shall be sent by the clerk of the Board to the petitioner. The notice shall be in writing and delivered by mail so that the notice shall be received by the taxpayer no less than 10 calendar days prior to the day of the Board meeting at which the Request for Review shall be considered.

F. Review Proceedings before the Board shall be bifurcated (i.e., two-part process), unless the Board, by motion, authorizes review following the determination of good cause for review and such action is agreed to by the parties.

FG. The Board shall consider the request for review of the recommendation of the special magistrate and determine whether good cause has been established to grant a review. The Board’s determination of good cause for review shall be limited to the allegation of factual and/or legal errors set forth on the form requesting review; provided, however, that the Board may ask questions of the parties relating to the allegations of error.

H. If the Board determines that there is not good cause to grant review, the recommendation of the special magistrate shall be affirmed.

I . Upon a determination of good cause for review, the Board may establish a time for review, refer the matter to a special magistrate for further action, or provide any other relief as permitted by law. In the event that a matter has been once referred to a special magistrate (either the original special magistrate or a new special magistrate) by the Board for further action, and a party shall again appeal the special magistrate recommendation to the Board, the Board shall not refer the matter back to a special for a second time during the same tax year.

J. The Board shall not accept and/or consider additional evidence at any portion of the review proceedings.

K . The Board staff shall schedule review hearings before the Board. Notice of Hearing shall be sent by the clerk of the Board. The notice shall be in writing and delivered by certified mail no less than 10 calendar days prior to the day of the scheduled hearing.

L . Petitioners may be represented by an attorney or agent at a review hearing; however, petitioners shall not be required to retain the services of an attorney or agent and may represent their own interests. If someone other than the taxpayer or an attorney appears on behalf of the petitioner, such person shall provide, prior to the onset of the review hearing, authorization in writing from the taxpayer evidencing such person’s authority to appear on the taxpayer’s behalf. The Board shall have the authority to hear a petition contingent on proper authorization being submitted prior to the final decision.

Authorizations are NOT required by statute, and if they are to be required they also should be required by attorneys. If someone misrepresents their lawfulness to represent a taxpayer, there is other recourse available to taxpayers - like calling the cops and filing charges of fraud. If someone misrepresents their status and is licensed, complaints can be filed against them for making false statements. I personally resent being made into a 2nd class citizen when attorneys are not required to file the same documents required of me. After all the VAB is more practice under Chapter 475 than it is practice of law.

L . The property appraiser, or its authorized representative, may be, but need not be, represented by an attorney in defending the property appraiser’s assessment or opposing an exemption.

M . The Chair shall call the cases on the agenda; however, the Board shall not be bound by the order in which the cases appear on the agenda.

N . If after notice of hearing a party does not appear, the review hearing may be conducted and the Board may accept the recommendation of the special master, provide relief as authorized by law, or refer the matter back to a special master magistrate for further action.

O . A verbatim record of the proceedings shall be made by digital and/or tape recording and shall be retained by the clerk of the Board for a period of not less than four years. In addition, the clerk shall retain and index to the verbatim record all documentary evidence. Nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit any party from providing a court reporter for the proceedings.

Q . All testimony shall be under oath; provided, however, if a person refuses to be sworn for any reason whatsoever, the Board shall not assign unsworn testimony the same weight or credibility as sworn testimony in its deliberations.

R. The review hearing shall be in the nature of an appeal. The Board shall accept the recommendation of the special magistrate unless there is a determination of the Board that the findings of fact were not based upon competent substantial evidence, the proceedings on which the findings were based did not comply with the essential requirements of law, or that procedural due process was not accorded.

S. The Board shall have the authority to ask questions at any time of either party or others in attendance at the meeting.

T. At the conclusion of the review hearing, the Board shall, by motion, issue a decision on the merits. The decision shall be reduced to writing by staff of the Board and shall be issued within 20 calendar days of the last day the Board is in session.

U. Further relief shall be provided pursuant to the provisions of F.S. 194.036.

VII. PROCEDURES FOR REMAND BY EITHER SPECIAL MAGISTRATE OR VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD

A In the event that the property appraiser’s assessment is determined to be erroneous pursuant to the provisions of F. S. 194.301, and the record lacks competent, substantial evidence meeting the just value criteria of 193.011, the matter shall be remanded to the property appraiser by either the special magistrate or Board.

B. The remand shall include appropriate and specific direction from the Board or special magistrate.

C. The property appraiser shall conduct a review of the assessment and, within 15 calendar days of the remand by the special magistrate or Board, shall notify the petitioner by certified mail and notify the Board, in writing, of the results of the review assessment.

D. Petitioner shall have 15 calendar days from receipt of the notice to request a continuation of the hearing. In the event the petitioner desires a continuation of the hearing following notice of the review of the assessment by the property appraiser, a hearing shall be scheduled before a special magistrate and shall be conducted pursuant to the rules set forth above for a special magistrate hearing.

SVT:slw

VABRULE2004.doc

12/6/04

10/08/04

04-019.01