BCC Agenda 07/23/2024 Item #13A (Electing either Commissioner Kowal or Commissioner Saunders as VAB Chairman)07/23/2024
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Request to elect either Commissioner Kowal or Commissioner Saunders as chairman of the Value
Adjustment Board.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
OBJECTIVE: Request to elect either Commissioner Kowal or Commissioner Saunders as chairman of the Value
Adjustment Board (VAB).
CONSIDERATIONS: On February 27, 2024, Item 13(A), the Board of County Commissioners’ adopted
Resolution 2024-36 appointing County Commissioners Dan Kowal and Burt Saunders to the Value Adjustment
Board. The VAB meets for the following purposes:
• Hearing petitions relating to assessments filed pursuant to Section 194.011(3), Florida Statutes (F.S.).
• Hearing appeals relating to homestead exemptions as provided for under Section 196.151, F.S.
• Hearing appeals from exemptions denied, or disputes arising from exemptions granted, upon the filing of
exemption applications under Section 196.011, F.S.
• Hearing appeals concerning the denial of certain tax refunds.
• Hearing appeals concerning ad valorem tax deferrals and classifications.
• Hearing appeals concerning real property affected by catastrophic events.
Pursuant to Section 194.015, F.S., the VAB is required to be comprised of the following membership:
• Two members of the governing board of the county as elected from membership of the board of said
governing body, one of whom will be elected VAB chairperson; and
• One member of the school board as elected from the membership of the school board; and
• Two citizen members, one of whom shall be appointed by the governing body of the county and must own
homestead property within the county, and one of whom must be appointed by the school board and must own
a business occupying commercial space located within the school district. A citizen member may not be a
member or an employee of any taxing authority and may not be a person who represents property owners in
any administrative or judicial review of property taxes.
Past practice has been to establish a chairperson at the VAB’s annual organization meeting by vote of the current
VAB members. In May of 2024 the Florida Department of Revenue’s Office of General Counsel issued
clarification that the VAB chairperson should be elected by the county governing body. The General Counsel’s
clarification is included as an attachment to this executive summary.
GROWTH MANAGEMENT IMPACT: None.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
LEGAL CONSIDERATION: This item has been reviewed by the County Attorney, is at the direction of the
independent Value Adjustment Board attorney, and on that basis, this item is approved as to form and legality and
requires majority vote for any Board action. -JAK
RECOMMENDATION: Elect a chairperson from the two (2) Commissioners currently serving as members of the
Value Adjustment Board.
Prepared by: Derek M. Johnssen, Finance Director, Office of the Collier County Clerk of the Circuit Court and
Comptroller
ATTACHMENT(S)
1. Exhibit FDOR VAB OGC Chairmanship (PDF)
13.A
Packet Pg. 276
07/23/2024
COLLIER COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
Item Number: 13.A
Doc ID: 29351
Item Summary: Request to elect either Commissioner Kowal or Commissioner Saunders as chairman of the
Value Adjustment Board. (Derek Johnssen, Finance Director, Office of the Collier County Clerk of the Circuit
Court and Comptroller)
Meeting Date: 07/23/2024
Prepared by:
Title: – Clerk of the Circuit Court
Name: Erin Roxberry
07/02/2024 11:45 AM
Submitted by:
Title: Assistant Finance Director – Clerk of the Circuit Court
Name: Derek Johnssen
07/02/2024 11:45 AM
Approved By:
Review:
Clerk of the Circuit Court Derek Johnssen Other Reviewer Completed 07/02/2024 11:49 AM
County Attorney's Office Jeffrey A. Klatzkow Level 3 County Attorney's Office Review Completed 07/02/2024 11:52 AM
Office of Management and Budget Debra Windsor Level 3 OMB Gatekeeper Review Completed 07/02/2024 12:23 PM
Office of Management and Budget Agnieszka Chudy OMB Reviewer Completed 07/02/2024 3:16 PM
County Manager's Office Amy Patterson Level 4 County Manager Review Completed 07/12/2024 2:23 PM
Board of County Commissioners Geoffrey Willig Meeting Pending 07/23/2024 9:01 AM
13.A
Packet Pg. 277
Please Respond to:
Office of the General Counsel
Property Tax Oversight Legal Section
Post Office Box 6668
Tallahassee, Florida 32314-6668
steve.keller@floridarevenue.com
May 14, 2024
E-MAIL DELIVERY
From: Stephen J. Keller
Chief Legal Counsel for Property Tax Litigation and VAB Oversight,
Florida Department of Revenue (DOR)
To: Jon Moyle, Legal Counsel, Leon County Value Adjustment Board (VAB)
Mackenzie Baughn, Sr. Paralegal, Leon County Attorney's Office
Subject: Election of Chairperson for VAB by County Governing Body
Thank you for your emails on behalf of the Leon County Attorney’s Office and several
VABs in which you inquire about the election process for the value adjustment board
chairperson. Your question to the Department is as follows:
• “Specifically, the pending question is who elects the chair of the VAB? The two
possible choices are the county commission when “electing” two members of
their commission to serve on the VAB or the VAB when convening and organizing
at its annual organizational meeting.”
According to s. 194.015, F.S., the VAB is composed of two members of the county's
governing body, one of whom is elected as the chairperson. Section 194.015, F.S.
creates the value adjustment boards:
“Value adjustment board.—There is hereby created a value adjustment board for each
county, which shall consist of two members of the governing body of the county as
elected from the membership of the board of said governing body, one of whom shall
be elected chairperson, and one member of the school board as elected from the
membership of the school board, and two citizen members, one of whom shall be
appointed by the governing body of the county and must own homestead property
within the county and one of whom must be appointed by the school board and must
own a business occupying commercial space located within the school district. […]”
You state it is unclear whether the VAB elects the chairperson at the first meeting or if
the governing body does this beforehand. You indicate that the legislative history for s.
194.015, F.S. does not contain anything relevant.
13.A.a
Packet Pg. 278 Attachment: Exhibit FDOR VAB OGC Chairmanship (29351 : VAB Chair Appointment)
Leon County
Value Adjustment Board
May 14, 2024
The function of the statute is to create the value adjustment board, set forth that all
members, including the chair, are elected and appointed by the county governing body
and the school board.
For consistency, we read the word “elected” as action by the county governing body or
school board. The statute states the county governing body shall elect two members to
the VAB, then the statute says one of whom shall be elected chair. The statute
proceeds to describe the school board member as “elected” by the school board.
Nowhere in this statutory process does it suggest that the VAB elects a chair.
The Department’s rule, 12D-9.004, F.A.C., tracks the statute and provides: “12D-9.004
Composition of the Value Adjustment Board.
“(1) Every county shall have a value adjustment board which consists of:
“(a) Two members of the governing body of the county, elected by the governing body
from among its members, one of whom shall be elected as the chair of the value
adjustment board;
….” (Emphasis supplied).
The election of the VAB chair by the county governing body also relieves the VAB of the
task of beginning a meeting without an elected chair and then completing the election
during the initial meeting, which would typically be the organizational meeting of the
VAB.
SJK/sk
13.A.a
Packet Pg. 279 Attachment: Exhibit FDOR VAB OGC Chairmanship (29351 : VAB Chair Appointment)