By Patrick Justin Fahey - Staff Writer
A group formed to fight the
effects of
Patricia Weston Rivera, the
group’s vocal leader, suggested during the Oct. 12 meeting that city officials
decrease the number of tax-exempt properties in the city and questioned what
kind of tax breaks new developments may be receiving.
One problem that Rivera has
is that there has been a large shift in the tax burden from commercial
properties to residential properties. Rivera pointed to the amount of profits
some businesses achieve. As an example, Rivera cited the
While Rivera said she
understands that a business is assessed only on its land and building and not
the amount of profit they make, she said she believes that the land the
“Let’s get rid of the
Pavel Manrique also spoke to
the crowd of about 75 people. He stressed that individuals should make sure
there were no mistakes on their new assessment by asking for a meeting with
Appraisal Systems, the company hired by the city to do the revaluation, to
review the reassessment.
“Make sure all of the
information in the report for your house is correct,” Manrique said. “Make sure
that if you have a two- bedroom house, only two bedrooms show up in the report,
not three or four. If you have two bathrooms, make sure no more than two show
up in the report.”
This is exactly what Edson
Elysee has already done. According to Elysee, Appraisal Systems originally had
his home listed as a six-bedroom with a finished attic.
“I only have three bedrooms,
and my attic isn’t finished,” he said. Elysee indicated that when he brought
the mistakes to the attention of Appraisal Systems, the company corrected the
discrepancy.
Manrique also stressed that
property owners reviewing their revaluations should pay attention to decks and
fireplaces, which increase the assessment value of a house.
“Make sure it is not in the
report if you don’t have one,” said Manrique.
Manrique told the audience to
bring at least five “comps,” or comparable sales, to a meeting, showing that
similar houses are selling •for less then a resident’s reassessed value. He
said the “comps” must be within a one-mile radius of the residence.
“One thing I ask of all of
you is to get involved,” Manrique said in concluding his presentation. “The
city council will only listen to us and do something
about it if we keep voicing our needs, so please, get involved.”
Manrique later said he
believed that reviews of individual assessments and individual tax appeals were
the best bet for relief in the short run.
Former mayoral candidate
Betty Brown, also present at the meeting, said she had a meeting with Appraisal
Systems personnel and that the company acknowledged and corrected a mistake on
her assessment. She then appealed the tax revaluation and won further relief.
There were others at the meeting who indicated similar success in meetings with
Appraisal Systems.