The Bay County property appraiser in Florida has sued the local Value Adjustment Board (VAB), claiming members illegally allowed an additional 15 percent of tax cuts on 19 properties in the county, according to court documents.
The tax breaks have been in place since 2012. This year, that amounted to about $6.8 million in property free from the tax rolls that could have contributed $80,000 in tax revenue to the school district, as well as revenue to each of the properties’ respective county or municipal governments, Property Appraiser Dan Sowell said in a report from The News Herald in Panama City, Fla.
The Property Appraiser’s Office filed the lawsuit in October, claiming the VAB, which hears appeals from property owners about their property values, overstepped its authority with the additional cuts. In a series of court decisions that reached the 1st District Court of Appeal, Sowell argued the VAB reduced his “fair market value” and then unlawfully further reduced the properties’ “assessed value” by 15 percent, according to court documents.
Sowell’s lawsuit looks to recover the lost 15 percent in tax revenue and keep the VAB from making the same conclusions in the future.
Sowell said the lost revenue is only an underlying issue, because the court’s decision on the matter would have statewide ramifications.
“If this practice is allowed to stand, this would be a game-changer statewide,” Sowell told The News Herald. “You could imagine that if it is allowed only a few people who appeal would be granted an additional 15 percent tax reduction while those who don’t know how to do that would not have that benefit. That’s why it can’t be allowed to stand.”
The lawsuit centers on 19 properties that were granted adjustments in 2012 after petitioning special magistrates to look into their assessed values. Based upon recommendations from the special magistrates, the VAB concluded in each case that the property owners provided sufficient evidence to overcome the property appraiser’s assessed value that was “in excess of just value,” according to VAB records.
Loren Levy, attorney for the property appraiser, said up to that point, the VAB was operating within its authority. However, the VAB further reduced the taxable value of the property by an additional 15 percent on top of the initial value adjustment, leading to the lawsuit.