Vab Shenanigans

For most Florida taxpayers, the Value Adjustment Board is the only defense against excessive taxable assessments. When any VAB is not ethical, or not lawful, taxpayers lose their rights and are overcharged fees and taxes at the same time. No county should engage in tactics intended to reduce numbers of petitions or influence decisions of special masters. But many do. See Manatee County for an example.

Not all counties do all things to predetermine the outcome of Hearings, but most do some. The result is taxpayers do not have an "adequate remedy". In July, 2005, the state auditors released a Performance Audit of fourteen Value Adjustment Boards, with twelve Findings and Recommendations, plus responses from the audited counties, and others, and rebuttal. The report can be read on the web site of the Auditor General.

Here's how some of the abuses are implemented . . .

• VAB members fail to read the laws and regulations governing the process, relying on attorneys to tell them their obligations. Some of the information repeated to VAB members is not accurate, and contradicts the plain language of statutes and Supreme Court decisions. And, taxpayers rights are denied through misinformation or possible deliberate obfuscation. See Palm Beach.
• A credible source reports a formal directive sent by a DOR professional to a county regarding compliance with legal standards allegedly was followed by a phone call saying "you can disregard that directive".
• DOR administrator states ignorance of the laws governing VABs, and does not want to know if an agency employee is engaged in misconduct.
• Instead of preventing deputies from abusing the system, assessors pay a lobbyist to influence state laws, with a declared agenda to reduce the numbers of petitions.
• Assessors' attorneys often influence DOR regulations using "off the record" association meetings that occur "out of the Sunshine".
• DOR personnel maintain personal friendships with assessors and their attorneys, so that the intended objective regulatory agency is politicized, and takes orders from the very local departments they are supposed to supervise independently of influence.
• VAB members adopt made-up local "rules," not authorized by state law, contradicting governing statutes.
• VABs engage special masters with 100% denial rates.
• Local "rules" include statements that intimidate special masters, persuading them they cannot make independent determinations of value based upon the evidence.
• Arbitrary conditions are imposed on agents, although not indicated in state law, and not required of attorneys, in attempts to prevent experts from filing petitions.
• County attorneys are used to advise VABs, institutionalizing conflicts of interest, and exposing VAB attorneys to the influence of budget demands.
• Many VAB attorneys rely on assessors' attorneys for information, rather than doing their own work, leading to biased insights into the laws governing the process.
• Orientation meetings of special masters are not advertised, and petitioners are not given notice of them. Yet, assessors' attorneys and deputies attend, and speak, and instruct.
• Local "rules" steer communication away from VAB members to the attorneys who write the "rules", so abuses are covered up. At the same time, VAB members are in direct and unmonitored communication with assessors.
• Petitions require information not needed by the Clerk to identify and schedule property for appeal. The information is demanded by employees of Clerks of the Courts, to give to assessors, who then use it against petitioners at hearings.
• Taxpayers are charged to file VAB petitions, after already paying for the services in their ad valorem taxes. And, then refunds are not given when it is shown that assessments are too high. The more petitions filed, the more profit is made by counties.
• VAB clerks ignore scheduling requests in petitions, or refuse to provide 20-day Notice for rescheduling requests, thereby eroding taxpayers' rights to see evidence before the hearings.
• Deputies appear, without "invitation" and without authorizing laws, to inspect properties after VAB petitions have been filed. Then, deputies use against petitioners whatever they learn, sometimes making unsubstantiated statements at hearings about what they may have seen or been told.
• Numbers of property assessor "observers" fill up hearings rooms to "watch" (intimidate) masters, and taxpayers.
• Hearings are conducted behind closed doors, not "public meetings" per the Sunshine law.
• Public record act requests are ignored, hiding contact information about petitioners.
• Petitioners are threatened with raised assessments because of appeals to VABs.
• Documentation is gathered to support assessments after preliminary tax rolls are submitted to DOR for approval.
• Evidence used by assessors is furnished at VAB hearings which is not part of the tax roll submitted to DOR, often is out of date, or is unsubstantiated.
• Agents are slandered, by assessor's attorneys, in attempts to color the outcomes of hearings.
• Ex parte communication occurs as assessors or their attorneys are permitted to stay in hearing rooms, behind closed doors, with special masters.
• VAB evidence is not kept properly by Clerks of the Court, rather it is turned over to assessors after hearings are concluded.
• Proper logs of tapes and other documents are not kept by Clerks of the Court, and tampering occurs.
• Non-determinative information is demanded, then used to influence the decisions of special masters in ways that pre-determine the outcome of VAB hearings.
• Attempts are made by assessors' attorneys to codify changes in law through unsupported references at VAB hearings and in circuit court.