VAB Minutes 10/10/2016 October 10, 2016
TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE
VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD
Naples, Florida, October 10, 2016
LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Value Adjustment Board,
in and for the County of Collier, met on this date at 9:00 a.m., in
REGULAR SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex,
East Naples, Florida, with the following members present:
CHAIRMAN: Tim Nance, BCC Member
Penny Taylor, BCC Member (Excused)
Erika Donalds, School Board Member
Rebecca Earney, Homestead Citizen Member
Bill Poteet, Business Citizen Member
Shawn Khan, Alternate Homestead Citizen
ALSO PRESENT:
James Morey, Esq., Counsel to the VAB Board
Abe Skinner, Property Appraiser
Jeep Quinby, Property Appraiser's Office
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VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARD
MEETING AGENDA
Board of County Commission Chambers
Collier County Government Center
3299 Tamiami Trail E., 3rd Floor
Naples, FL 34112
October 10, 2016 @ 9:00 a.m.
1. Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call
2. Introduction by VAB Legal Counsel: James F. Morey, Esq. with the Law Firm of
Bond, Schoeneck&King, PLLC; and Appointment of Acting-Chairman
3. Approval of Today's Meeting Agenda
4. Approval/Acceptance of Minutes into the 2016 VAB record
A. August 1, 2016 VAB Organizational Meeting
5. Public Comment
6. VAB Legal Counsel & Special Magistrates' Contracts and request for RFP
• Jim Morey, Esq. with Bond, Schoeneck & King – VAB Legal Counsel
• Davia Mazur, Esq. –Attorney (Exemptions, Classifications & Portability)
• Ellen Chadwell, Esq. – Attorney (Exemptions, Classifications & Portability)
• Scott Watson, MAI (Coastal Consulting Group)– Commercial Appraiser
and Residential Appraiser
• Mark Pelletier (South Florida Valuations)– Residential Appraiser and
Tangible Personal Property Appraiser
7. VAB Attorney Report/General Business
194.032 Hearing purposes; timetable.—
(1)(a) The value adjustment board shall meet not earlier than 30 days and not later than 60
days after the mailing of the notice provided in s. 194.011(1); however, no board hearing shall
be held before approval of all or any part of the assessment rolls by the Department of Revenue.
(TRIM mailed out on 8/18/2016)
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October 10,2016
A. 2016 VAB Filings: 614 (34 untimely [as of 10/04/16]: 24 denied)
*as compared to 635 petitions filed in 2015 (12 of those were untimely)
*as compared to 388 petitions filed in 2014 (4 of those were untimely)
*as compared to 616 petitions filed in 2013 (30 of those were untimely)
*as compared to 766 petitions filed in 2012 (15 of those were untimely)
*as compared to 892 petitions filed in 2011 (12 of those were untimely)
B. General overview of Value Adjustment Board's role in Florida's property
tax system and any VAB process updates/changes from the Department of
Revenue/Property Tax Oversight Division.
• Uniform Policies and Procedure Manual — Revised 08/2016
C. Informational links available on the Department of Revenue's, My Florida
Sunshine and the Clerk of the Value Adjustment Board's websites:
• Florida's Government in the Sunshine— Government-in-the-Sunshine
Manual (available at: www.mvflsunshine.com/sun.nsf/sunmanual
AND www.collierclerk.com)
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• Uniform Policies and Procedures Manual
(available at: www.mvflorida.com/dor/property/vab AND
www.collierclerk.com)
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• Reference Materials Including Guidelines
(available at: www.mvflorida.com/dor/property/vab AND
www.collierclerk.com)
• Other Legal Resources Including Statutory Criteria
(available at: www.mvflorida.com/dor/property/vab AND
www.collierclerk.com)
8. VAB Dates of Importance
A. Magistrate Hearings: Currently scheduled to begin October 13, 2016
through November 10, 2016 (more dates assigned, if needed, based on any
good cause reschedules)
B. Final VAB Meeting: March 6, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.
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October 10,2016
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(Changed from original date of March 13, 2017)
(Please confirm attendance)
C. Property Taxes are due to be paid by March 31, 2017
(For reference: http://colliertax.com/nronertvtax.html)
9. Staff and Board Member Comments
10. Adjournment Sine Die until March 6, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.
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October 10,2016
October 10, 2016
CHAIRMAN NANCE: I'll call the meeting to order.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Value
Adjustment Board Meeting of October 10th, 2016.
Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance to be followed by the roll.
(The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Can we have the roll call, please.
MR. MOREY: Good morning. Citizen Member Rebecca
Earney?
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Here.
MR. MOREY: Commissioner Tim Nance?
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Here.
MR. MOREY: School Board Member Erika Donalds?
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Here.
MR. MOREY: And Citizen Member Mr. Bill Poteet?
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Here.
MR. MOREY: Okay. We do have a quorum.
Good morning. Attorney James Morey with the firm Bond,
Schoeneck & King, Counsel to the VAB.
I wanted to also introduce some other folks that are here with us
today. We have Property Appraiser Mr. Skinner. Welcome, sir.
MR. SKINNER: Thank you.
MR. MOREY: And also from the Appraiser's Office, Mr. Jeep
Quinby.
And we do have with us today an alternate -- we have an
Alternate Citizen Member with us who's sitting in for the first time,
and it's Shawn KHAN. Thank you, sir.
MR. KHAN: Thank you.
MR. MOREY: And we also have someone from the
Procurement Services, Collier County, Ms. Herrera. Thank you for
being here. And she'll be speaking to an item -- agenda item coming
up.
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October 10, 2016
So the first order for today would be to appoint an acting
chairperson for the meeting, and it must be a commissioner.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: I nominate Tim
Nance.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Is there a second?
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Second.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: There's a motion and a second to
nominate Tim Nance as chair. Any discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, all those in favor, signify
by saying aye.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Aye.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Aye.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Any opposed, like sign.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: I guess it's unanimous, Mr. Morey.
MR. MOREY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Wonderful. We'll let Mr. Morey -- are
you going to continue with introductions? Do you have anything
else?
MR. MOREY: No, sir.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: With nothing else, I'll entertain a motion
to approve today's meeting agenda.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: So moved.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Second.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: There's a motion and a second to
approve the agenda as presented. Any discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, all those in favor, signify
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October 10, 2016
by saying aye.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Aye.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Aye.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: All those opposed, like sign?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: It's approved unanimously.
That brings us to approval of the -- and acceptance of the minutes
into the VAB record of the meeting of August 1st, 2016. Is there a
motion to approve?
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: So moved.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: There's a motion to approve. I will
second. There's a motion and a second to approve and accept the
minutes and place them into the 2016 VAB record.
Any further discussion?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, all those in favor, signify
by saying aye.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Aye.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Aye.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Any opposed, like sign.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: All right. That's passed.
Public Comment; is there any comment from the public on the
agenda or items not on the agenda?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, why don't you carry us
through No. 6, Mr. Morey.
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October 10, 2016
MR. MOREY: Thank you.
Yes. So I will read through the current people serving the Board
in various capacities. Myself and our firm as VAB Legal Counsel; we
have Attorney Davia Mazur, who is one of the Magistrates; Ellen
Chadwell, an Attorney who's also one of the Magistrates; Scott
Watson, who's an Appraiser Magistrate; and Mark Pelletier, a
Residential Appraiser and Tangible Personal Property Appraiser,
serves as a Magistrate.
All of those folks, including myself, are under contract through
2017, through the end of this process for this year, this VAB cycle,
rather. I think legal counsel contract is up. It was approved in 2013
for a two-year term and then with a two-year renewal option, which
was exercised, and this will be finished in May.
The magistrates, similarly, will be finished in August. I believe
each of them, their contract term will be up in August.
So going forward we are at that point where it will be necessary
to go out to bid, and that's why the procurement services, Ms. Herrera's
here to answer any questions.
In your packet you can see -- and they're separated one by VAB
attorney, then the RFP. What's in your packet is the RFPs that went out
in 2013. It's really for information only. They will need to change,
obviously, slightly, dates updated, maybe some statutory references.
But the basic information and the basic format is in that packet.
Kind of just thinking out loud, it's probably better to do this
sooner rather than later because you will be convening again in March
to finish up the season. It may not be a bad idea if we can get that -- if
we can get this done and get the appointments done going forward, that
would be great. If not, it could always be --
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Does that require a motion, sir, from the
Board to go ahead and proceed with the RFP process?
MR. MOREY: It would.
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October 10, 2016
CHAIRMAN NANCE: I will make a motion for the Board to go
ahead and begin the RFP process for the Legal Counsel and Special
Magistrates' Contracts.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Second.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: There's a motion and a second. Any
further discussion or comments?
MR. MOREY: Ms. Herrera, did you want to comment at all?
MS. HERRERA: No. We'll go ahead and start the process.
The first one would be for the one that will be expiring in May. We'll
go out and start with that early January, the entire process, and then
we'll come back to the Board with the final ranking.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: All right.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Can you just
confirm if there were any material differences from what are in the
packet for what we'll be seeing in the RFP? Because, obviously, those
won't come back for our approval before they go out.
MS. HERRERA: We would need to confirm to see if there are
any changes in the statute. That would be -- the only thing that would
be updated would be any changes in the statute. Everything else
would be the same.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Thank you.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Any other comments? Comments from
the Board?
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Will we have a review of the
current magistrates at the March meeting on their progress or their
performance? I mean, we're talking about doing a vote then.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: We're just moving the process forward.
We're not confirming or making any selections or acting.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: I understand that, but I just
want to make sure the data's there at the end. So if there were issues, I
want to know about it before we vote.
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October 10, 2016
CHAIRMAN NANCE: And the next meeting is when, Mr.
Morey?
MR. MOREY: March 6th, I believe.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Okay. Well, maybe we should have
that --
MR. MOREY: That information?
CHAIRMAN NANCE: You'll bring that forward and place that
on the agenda for that meeting?
MR. MOREY: Yes, sir.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Good catch, Mr. Poteet.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: No problem.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: All right. Additional comments from
the Board?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, there's a motion and a
second to move forward with the RFP process and bring back
information regarding that process at the next meeting.
All those in favor, signify by saying aye.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Aye.
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Aye.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Aye.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Any opposed, like sign.
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Okay. So we're moving forward on
those RFPs.
MR. MOREY: Thank you.
Item 7, A through C, really just General Business reporting. You
might ask why do we -- we just met in August, and why do we meet
now? Well, because statute requires us to meet no sooner than 30
days after the issuance of the TRIM notices and no later than 60 days,
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October 10, 2016
so this is just a required meeting to touch base, to get going prior to the
magistrate hearings.
So far -- if I can give you a little recap on the filings so far. So
far in 2016 there are 614 petitions; 34 were filed late. This was as of
the 4th. Twenty-four of the 34 were denied as not substantiating a
good cause for filing a late; 10 did. And usually there's no bright line
as to what constitutes, you know, good cause for filing late, but
basically anything that would take your time and attention away from
that date. The most common one is medical emergencies, traveling,
doctors' appointments, medical emergencies, illnesses in the family,
and that was the case with several of these that were allowed to go
forward.
General overview of the VAB role and the tax system; the only
comment I want to make there is the Uniform Policies and Procedure
Manual was revised in August 2016, so it is updated. It's in your
packet. It's also online. And I'll tell you the link to get that online,
but it is -- it is a great source of information about the process. And
those informational links, all of these, can be found online.
With respect to Florida Government in the Sunshine, the
Government in the Sunshine Manual is available at
www.myflsunshine.com, also available with the Collier Clerk. All of
these materials are available on the Clerk's website.
I just mentioned the Uniform Policies and Procedure Manual.
That can be found at www.myflorida.com/dor/property/vab, also on
the Clerk's website, Collier Clerk's website, www.collierclerk.com.
Any reference materials, including guidelines, including legal
resources, including rules and regulations, the Florida Administrative
Code, Florida Statutes, also all available online at DOR and Collier
Clerk.
Which brings us to dates of importance. Item No. 8. Currently,
you're scheduled to begin this week, the magistrate hearings. They
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October 10, 2016
are tentatively now scheduled to run through November 10th. More
dates will be assigned if necessary based on rescheduling. Things
happen, sometimes people can't make the hearing. There's either an
agreement to continue or someone asks to continue, but so far it looks
like November 10th is the outside date.
And the final VAB Meeting for the year is March 6th, 2017, at 9
a.m., and we moved it back. It's the week prior to spring break.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: Thank you.
CITIZEN MEMBER POTEET: Thank you.
MR. MOREY: You're welcome.
Property Taxes; an important date to be mindful of. Property
taxes are due to be paid by March 31, 2017. Any questions with
respect to tax payments, you can look -- they can look it up at
colliertax.com.
And that brings us to any comments from staff or board members.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: I do.
MR. MOREY: Yes.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Where are the hearings,
the magistrate hearings, going to be held?
MR. MOREY: Okay. Good question. There's a hearing room
upstairs on the fourth floor outside of the Clerk's Office. It's
actually -- the door into the hearing room is just outside the doors into
the Clerk's Office.
HOMESTEAD MEMBER EARNEY: Okay. Thank you.
MR. MOREY: Yeah.
SCHOOLBOARD MEMBER DONALDS: There's a schedule
in the back of the packet, too.
MR. MOREY: And they are open -- they are open to the public.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Any other questions, comments, staff or
the Board?
(No response.)
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October 10, 2016
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Mr. Morey, I guess --
MR. MOREY: I do have one comment, I apologize. I missed
this one; missed it on my notes.
There's two things. One, there's a DOR workshop for those of
you who might be interested in tuning into it. It's a good workshop.
It's at Tallahassee on the 13th. So it would be this Thursday at 10 a.m.
And you can dial in and listen to it online, I believe. They stream it
live. And the workshop is to talk about changes to VAB forms,
basically ratifying some VAB forms.
And we are actually using the provisional forms with those
changes now, but they'll be talking about it and ratifying it. So that's
the 13th at 10 a.m.
And one other item. The assessment of our tax roll, both Real
and Tangible Property, Form 488, which we submit at the end of the
year, that's the final version as adjusted by the VAB. Preliminarily we
submit one at the beginning of this process. It's a Form 488P.
That's going to be voted on tomorrow, just to give you the heads-
up, Commissioner Nance, tomorrow at the commissioners' meeting.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: The extension.
MR. MOREY: Yeah, whether to do the extension. And I would
suggest that, while you're the Acting Chairman for today, we did
appoint Mrs. Taylor as the Chairman of the Value Adjustment Board,
so she should probably sign it if it's approved tomorrow.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Okay.
MR. MOREY: Thank you. And I apologize for missing that
earlier.
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Okay. I'll get that done.
All right. Additional comments, questions?
(No response.)
CHAIRMAN NANCE: Hearing none, I believe we will -- the
Board will be in adjournment until the March 6th, 2017, meeting here
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October 10, 2016
at 9 a.m. Thank you.
* * * * *
There being no further business for the good of the County, the
meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 9:14 a.m.
Value Adjustment Board
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ATTEST:
DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK
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Attest as b G i
signature onty,
These minutes approved by the Board on rno re.,h (4,, Dell
as presented or as corrected
TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF GREGORY COURT
REPORTING SERVICES, INC., BY TERRI LEWIS, NOTARY
PUBLIC/COURT REPORTER.
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