PTO - 2018 Value Adjustment Board Training Patricia L. Morgan
From: DORPTO <DORPTO@floridarevenue.com>
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2018 4:24 PM
To: DORPTO
Subject: 2018 Value Adjustment Board Training
TO: All Value Adjustment Boards, Special Magistrates, Board Clerks, Board Legal Counsel,
and Other Interested Parties
FROM: Florida Department of Revenue
SUBJECT: 2018 Value Adjustment Board Training
Section 194.035, Florida Statutes, requires the Department of Revenue to provide annual training for
value adjustment board special magistrates. The final 2018 VAB training is available on the
Department's website at http://floridarevenue.com/dor/property/vab/training.htmi.
In producing the 2018 training materials, the Department amended the 2017 training materials to
reflect 2018 legislative changes. For the reader's benefit, the 2018 legislative changes are in blue text
and are generally introduced by a "New" or "Note" label in red text.
Module 1 contains a summary of recent legislative changes. Various training modules included
throughout the VAB training address these changes where appropriate. Existing rule text affected by
a legislative change is in italicized, red text followed by a "Note" label in red text and a description of
the legislative change.
The VAB training materials also include housekeeping items, such as updated links to online
references; updated adjusted household incomes for the exemptions for low-income seniors and
totally and permanently disabled persons; and corrected citations.
Please send any questions to VTrainin `fioridarevenue.com.
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Value Adjustment Board (VAB) Training
The Department provides this training to comply with section 194.035, Florida Statutes. The information in this
training is not a rule in the Florida Administrative Code and does not have the force or effect of law. It contains
information about the law, along with the Department's observations, explanations, examples, and
recommendations, and its purpose is to assist boards, board attorneys, and special magistrates in performing their
duties consistently with Florida law.
Anyone who wants to take the training to comply with s. 194.035(3), F.S., must create a Blackboard account and
complete the training via Blackboard.
If you have comments or suggestions about this training, please send them to VABTraining@floridarevenue.com.
Value Adjustment Board Orientation
The Department of Revenue has produced an online orientation video for Florida value adjustment board
members. This brief video provides an overview of Florida's property tax system and describes the roles and
responsibilities of board members, board attorneys, board clerks, and special magistrates. This video was
designed for orientation purposes only and is not a replacement for the Department's value adjustment
board training specified in section 194.035(3), F.S.
Information and instructions for completing the Department's value adjustment board training specified
in section 194.035(3), F.S.
Who is required to take this training before conducting any VAB hearings ;
• All special magistrates
• VAB members or VAB attorneys in counties with populations of 75,000 or fewer that do not use special
magistrates
• Individuals who are interested in an appointment as a special magistrate, meet all other qualifications, and
have between three and five years of relevant experience
Who may be interested in this training
• Property appraisers, lawyers, practitioners, students, educators, and taxpayers may be interested in reviewing
the training materials for general educational purposes.
What to expect this training
The Department's 2018 training for boards and special magistrates has 11 training modules:
• Module 1: Introduction and Overview
• Module 2: The Roles of Participants in the Value Adjustment Board Process
• Module 3: Procedures Before the Hearing
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• Module 5: Procedures After the Hearing
• Module 6:Administrative Reviews of Real Property Just Valuations
• Module 7:Administrative Reviews of Classified Use Valuations and Assessed Valuations
• Module 8:Administrative Reviews of Tangible Personal Property Just Valuations
• Module 9:Administrative Reviews of Denials of Exemptions and Property Classifications
• Module 10: Administrative Reviews of Assessment Difference Transfers and Tax Deferrals
• Module 11: Requirements for Written Decisions
Notes
Required Steps for Completion
•Step 1: Log in to Your Blackboard Account �� , �. .�
For participants who HAVE a Blackboard CourseSites account from 2017 and are taking the SAME COURSE for 2018:
• Click this link: 2018 VAB Training
• Click "Login."
• Log in using the username and password that you created when you first signed up for an account.
• From your home page, click the title of the course.
• Click "2018 VAB Training"to view the 2018 training modules.
For participants who HAVE a Blackboard CourseSites account from 2017 and are taking a DIFFERENT COURSE for
2018:
• Click this link: 2018 VAB Training
• Under"My Courses," click on the title of the course in which you would like to enroll.
• Click"Self Enroll."
• Click"I Have a CourseSites Account."
• Log in using the username and password that you created when you first signed up for an account.
• From your home page, click the title of the course.
• Click "2018 VAB Training"to view the 2018 training modules.
For participants who DO NOT HAVE a Blackboard CourseSites account:
• Click this link: 2018 VAB Training
• Under "My Courses," click on the title of the course in which you would like to enroll.
• Click "Self Enroll."
• Click"I Need a CourseSites Account."
• Enter First Name, Last Name, and Email Address, and choose "United States" as the Country. Create a Username
and Password.The username and password can be anything you choose.
• Next to "CourseSites Terms of Use" click"Accept." Then, under"Your Answer," type the words that you see in the
large box on the screen.
• Click "Save and Continue."
• Click"Go to Course."
• Some users may encounter a message asking them to accept "cookies" on their computer. Click the "Accept&
Continue" button to proceed. Users who do not encounter this message will be prompted to create a profile.
This is not a necessary step.You can skip it by clicking on "I'll do it later."
• You should now see your course's home page. In the box to the left of the screen,you will see the title of the
course and a menu. Click on the announcement to view information and instructions for the course. Click"2018
VAB Training"to view the 2018 training modules.
Click to view detailed instructions with pictures for further help with your Blackboard CourseSites account.
Step 2: Review and Evaluate the Training Materials
After you have logged into Blackboard and enrolled in a course, review the information under 'Announcements" and
follow the instructions for completing the course.
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• Log in to Blackboard.
• On the menu to the left, click "Tools."
• Click "Achievements."
• You will see a gray square with a small green square in the top left corner. Click the third icon that looks like a
printer to view and print your certificate.
Click to view detailed instructions with pictures for further help with printing your certificate.
Please take a moment to complete the VAB training survey. We seek to improve this training and value your evaluation.
Step 3: Testing
If you have between three and five years of relevant experience and meet all other qualifications in section 194.035(1),
F.S.,you must take an exam to become a special magistrate. If you pass the exam,you will receive a certificate from the
Department for successfully completing the training and exam.
Successful completion requires a score of 80 percent or higher. If your score is below 80 percent,you may retest at
your convenience.
After successfully completing this training and exam, you may be hired as a special magistrate to hear petitions to the
value adjustment board.
Testing is not required for other participants in the VAB training, but they may take an exam if they prefer. Members of
the Florida Bar can become eligible for CLE credit by passing either the exam for VAB attorneys or the exam for
attorney special magistrates. More information on these CLE credit opportunities is available at the corresponding links
below.
If you need special accommodations to complete this exam, please contact the Training team at
VABTraining@floridarevenue.com.
More information about the exam for VAB attorneys and for each of the three types of special magistrates is available
at the following webpages:
• Take the exam for a VAB attorney.
• Take the exam for an attorney special magistrate.
• Take the exam for a real property appraiser special magistrate.
• Take the exam for a tangible personal property appraiser special magistrate.
If you are not taking an exam, please submit a copy of your certificate from Blackboard to
VABTraining@floridarevenue.com to add your name to the list of those who have taken the VAB training. This
Blackboard certificate is your certificate of training.
If you are taking an exam, please submit a copy of your certificate from Blackboard with a copy of the email from
"Hostedtest"with your exam results to VABTraining@floridarevenue.com. Your name will be added to the list of those
who have taken the VAB training, and you will receive a certificate of training completion.
If you have any questions about the training materials or have technical difficulties, please email
VABTraining@floridarevenue.com.
Value Adjustment Board Training Resources
Document Description Format
Value Adjustment Board Training
2018 VAB Training Modules 1 through 11 -PDF(1.37 MB)
Redline Version Changes from the previous VAB training to current
training PDF(820.42 KB)
List of VAB Members, VAB Attorneys, and Others Who Have Participated in the Value Adjustment Board
Training Course
VAB Training Participants 2017 VAB Training Participants 2017 -':PDF(49 KB)
VAB Training Participants 2016 VAB Training Participants 2016 ;PDF(47 KB)
VAB Training Participants 2015 VAB Training Participants 2015 "-PDF(44 KB)
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