VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD Board Conference Room, Fifth Floor Pinellas County Courthouse 315 Court Street, Clearwater, Florida October 9, 2012 08:30 A. M. A G E N D A 1. Meeting Called to Order. 2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of. 3. Approval of the First Certification of the 2012 Tax Rolls. 4. Final VAB Meeting to be scheduled following completion of all hearings. 5. Adjournment.
The Pinellas County Value Adjustment Board (VAB) met in the Board Conference Room, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, Florida, at 1:01 p.m. on this date with the following members present: Nancy Bostock, Chairman, County Commissioner Norm Roche, County Commissioner Carol Cook, School Board Member Michael Bindman, Citizen Appointee (School Board) Robert P. Symanski, Citizen Appointee (Board of County Commissioners) Also Present: Ken Burke, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Pam Dubov, Property Appraiser Claretha N. Harris, Chief Deputy Clerk, Finance Frederick L. Dean, Director, Finance Norman Loy, Manager, Board Records Cynthia N. Haumann (Former Manager, Board Records) Stephen G. Watts, Esquire, VAB Counsel Other Interested Individuals Helen Groves, Senior Board Reporter, Deputy Clerk A G E N D A 1. Opening Remarks and Introductions 2. Appointment of VAB Counsel a. Approval of 2012 Contract for VAB Counsel b. Approval of VAB Counsel Verification Form 3. Approval of Minutes of Meeting of February 21, 2012 4. Appointment of Special Magistrates (Attorneys) 5. Appointment of Special Magistrates (Appraisers) 6. Authorization to Hold an Orientation Meeting for Special Magistrates 7. Confirmation of Board Policies 3
a. Filing Fee of $15.00 b. Process for Handling Duplicate Petitions c. Process for Handling Late Filed Petitions and Good Cause Determinations d. Process for Holding Telephonic Hearings e. Deadlines for Recommendations and Approval of Special Magistrate Acknowledgments f. Compensation for Special Magistrates g. Approval of Petitioner Information Sheet 8. Approval of 2012 VAB Internal Operating Procedures 9. Authorization to Hire Temporary Help 10. Future Meeting 11. VAB statistics for Previous Years 12. Adjournment OPENING REMARKS AND INTRODUCTIONS Chairman Bostock called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. and at her request, members introduced themselves and provided contact information. Upon introduction of Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Ken Burke, Chairman Bostock stated that the Clerk's website contains links to the Department of Revenue (DOR) Rules and the Sunshine Law, noting that Mr. Loy had provided copies of both documents. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD No one appeared in response to the Chairman s call for persons wishing to be heard. APPOINTMENT OF VAB COUNSEL a. 2012 Contract For VAB Counsel - Approved Commissioner Roche moved, seconded by School Board Member Cook and carried, that the 2012 contract for the VAB counsel be approved. 4
b. VAB Counsel Verification Form - Approved Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, School Board Member Cook moved, seconded by Mr. Symanski and carried, that the VAB Counsel Verification Form be approved in order to comply with DOR Rule 12-D- 9.014(1). MINUTES OF MEETING OF FEBRUARY 21, 2012 - APPROVED Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, Mr. Bindman moved, seconded by Mr. Symanski and carried, that the minutes of the VAB meeting of February 21, 2012 be approved. NINE ATTORNEYS SELECTED TO SERVE AS SPECIAL MAGISTRATES FOR EXEMPTIONS In response to query by Commissioner Roche, Mr. Loy indicated that the list is separated by attorneys who have previously served and attorneys who have newly applied to serve; and that by approving the item, the VAB is authorizing all applicants to serve. Clerk Burke related that as it is difficult to predict the number of petitions that will be received, more applicants are selected than Board Records expects will be needed; whereupon, Commissioner Roche moved, seconded by Mr. Bindman and carried, that the nine attorneys listed in the agenda memorandum, which has been filed and made a part of the record, be approved as Special Magistrates for Exemptions. TWENTY-EIGHT APPRAISERS SELECTED TO SERVE AS SPECIAL MAGISTRATES Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, Mr. Symanski moved, seconded by Commissioner Roche and carried, that the 28 appraisers listed in the agenda memorandum, which has been filed and made a part of the record, be selected to serve as Special Magistrates. AUTHORIZATION GRANTED TO SCHEDULE SPECIAL MAGISTRATE ORIENTATION Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, Mr. Bindman moved, seconded by School Board Member Cook and carried, that the Special Magistrate orientation tentatively scheduled to be held Friday, September 21, 2012 at 9:00 a.m. be approved; whereupon, in response to query by 5
Clerk Burke, School Board Member Cook indicated that the Board members are not required to attend. VARIOUS BOARD POLICIES CONFIRMED, WITH ITEM NO. 7-F AMENDED; VAB RESOLUTION NO. 2012-01 ADOPTED SETTING THE 2012 FILING FEES Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, School Board Member Cook moved, seconded by Commissioner Roche, that the following Board policies be confirmed: a. Filing Fee of $15.00. b. Process for Handling Duplicate Petitions. c. Process for Handling Late Filed Petitions and Good Cause Determinations. d. Process for Holding Telephonic Hearings. e. Deadlines for Recommendations and Approval of Special Magistrate Acknowledgments. f. Compensation for Special Magistrates. g. Approval of Petitioner Information Sheet. Mr. Loy indicated that the mileage reimbursement rate has increased to 55.5 cents; whereupon, School Board Member Cook agreed to amend her motion to reflect the increase in the mileage reimbursement rate indicated in Item No. 7-f, and the seconder concurred. In response to queries by the members, Mr. Loy, with input by Ms. Haumann, indicated that examples of good cause are included in the DOR rules; that the attorney makes the determination; and that the Property Appraiser receives a copy of the petition to review. During discussion regarding compensating the Special Magistrates for two hours when all the petitions scheduled to be heard are cancelled, Clerk Burke, with input by Ms. Haumann and Attorney Watts, indicated that there is no cost to the petitioner for not attending the hearing; that the noshows are outside Board Records control; that the VAB must abide by the DOR rules; and that it would not be worth using our resources to try to solve the issue for the amount of downtime involved. Upon call for the vote, the motion to approve the policies, as amended, carried unanimously. 6
2012 VAB INTERNAL OPERATING PROCEDURES - APPROVED Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, Commissioner Roche moved, seconded by Mr. Bindman and carried, that the 2012 VAB internal operating procedures be approved. AUTHORIZATION GRANTED TO HIRE TEMPORARY HELP FOR THE VAB PROCESS Upon presentation by Chairman Bostock, Mr. Bindman moved, seconded by School Board Member Cook and carried, that authorization be granted to hire contract employees for the VAB process. In response to queries by the members, Ms. Haumann indicated that there is not a specific budget for the VAB; that VAB expenses are charged back to the BCC and the School Board; that is it customary to hire contract employees to record the hearings; and that the regular County contract with Randstad is used to engage the contract employees. 2012 VAB CALENDAR APPROVED Chairman Bostock indicated that the first Certification of the Tax Rolls has been tentatively scheduled for October 9, 2012 at 8:30 a.m.; and that the Final Certification of the Tax Rolls will be approved at the final VAB meeting, which will not be scheduled until after all the hearings have been completed. School Board Member Cook related that there might be a conflict with a School Board meeting; whereupon, Commissioner Roche moved, seconded by School Board Member Cook and carried, that the 2012 VAB Calendar be approved, with a friendly amendment that the date of the meeting may need to be changed. MISCELLANEOUS VAB Statistics Last Three Years VAB statistics for the previous three years were provided to the members. 7
ADJOURNMENT Chairman Bostock adjourned the meeting at 1:18 p.m. Chairman 8