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The Village League to Save Incline Assets is leading an effort to streamline property tax appeals.
Property tax petitions, due to the Washoe County Assessor's office by Jan. 15, will be accepted this year through Tuesday, Jan. 18 because the 15th is a Saturday and the following Monday is a legal holiday.
"Attorney Tom Hall will be delivering ... more than 1,000 petitions for review of assessed valuations from taxpayers in the Incline Village/Crystal Bay area," League activist Maryanne Ingemanson wrote in a letter to the Bonanza.
The Washoe County Board of Equalization will decide whether or not to consolidate the petitions. If approved, the hearings can be presented en mass before the BOE.
John Faulkner, chief deputy assessor, said the petitions are received by his office and from there they are sent to the clerk, who schedules hearings.
"It's up to the Board of Equalization to decide among themselves to hear them together or not," Faulkner said.
He said it would be much easier to hear only a single issue as a single case. "An appeals form was adapted by the Tax Commission with instructions by the Department of Taxation," he explained.
"It makes sense if they're identical appeals," said new BOE member John Krolick of Incline Village. "If packaged together identically, why not group them together?"
Ingemanson's letter states that the 1,000-plus petitions express the same concerns.
"All of these petitions state exactly the same reasons for the opinion that the properties are improperly valued," Ingemanson's letter said. She outlined their common concerns: There was "a failure to properly equalize taxes within and outside of Washoe County and areas thereof; a failure to follow the due process of law; a failure to follow proper rules and regulations."
League member Les Barta agreed wholeheartedly.
"It's pretty exciting to have an opportunity for people to have major issues presented, rather than as individuals doing that themselves," he said. "And it could save the assessor's office time."
Barta said taxpayers who have unrelated issues to those in the mass of petitions should feel free to present those issues separately, as individual taxpayers.
The issues are not simply "rich whiners" as some have said, Barta added. "The assumption is we don't want to face reality. I'm fed up with this prejudice. It is outrageous and unreasonable."
Barta cited a study Marvin Wolverton did last year. "He is an expert with unimpeachable credentials," he said. The study revealed an equalization problem with the manner in which taxes are assessed.
"It's clear beyond any doubt that our properties are out of equalization with each other and with others in Washoe County," he said. The study showed that property at Lake Tahoe but in Douglas County was evaluated quite differently than land in Washoe County, according to Barta.
"We want to present our case as a group," Barta said. "We are reasonable people with just issues." If this were not the case, he said, they wouldn't have been able to affect some of the regulations that they've addressed thus far.
"We want to end disputes," Barta said. If all of the offices involved face the real concerns and help create solutions, this can happen, he said.
Property tax petitions, due to the Washoe County Assessor's office by Jan. 15, will be accepted this year through Tuesday, Jan. 18 because the 15th is a Saturday and the following Monday is a legal holiday.
"Attorney Tom Hall will be delivering ... more than 1,000 petitions for review of assessed valuations from taxpayers in the Incline Village/Crystal Bay area," League activist Maryanne Ingemanson wrote in a letter to the Bonanza.
The Washoe County Board of Equalization will decide whether or not to consolidate the petitions. If approved, the hearings can be presented en mass before the BOE.
John Faulkner, chief deputy assessor, said the petitions are received by his office and from there they are sent to the clerk, who schedules hearings.
"It's up to the Board of Equalization to decide among themselves to hear them together or not," Faulkner said.
He said it would be much easier to hear only a single issue as a single case. "An appeals form was adapted by the Tax Commission with instructions by the Department of Taxation," he explained.
"It makes sense if they're identical appeals," said new BOE member John Krolick of Incline Village. "If packaged together identically, why not group them together?"
Ingemanson's letter states that the 1,000-plus petitions express the same concerns.
"All of these petitions state exactly the same reasons for the opinion that the properties are improperly valued," Ingemanson's letter said. She outlined their common concerns: There was "a failure to properly equalize taxes within and outside of Washoe County and areas thereof; a failure to follow the due process of law; a failure to follow proper rules and regulations."
League member Les Barta agreed wholeheartedly.
"It's pretty exciting to have an opportunity for people to have major issues presented, rather than as individuals doing that themselves," he said. "And it could save the assessor's office time."
Barta said taxpayers who have unrelated issues to those in the mass of petitions should feel free to present those issues separately, as individual taxpayers.
The issues are not simply "rich whiners" as some have said, Barta added. "The assumption is we don't want to face reality. I'm fed up with this prejudice. It is outrageous and unreasonable."
Barta cited a study Marvin Wolverton did last year. "He is an expert with unimpeachable credentials," he said. The study revealed an equalization problem with the manner in which taxes are assessed.
"It's clear beyond any doubt that our properties are out of equalization with each other and with others in Washoe County," he said. The study showed that property at Lake Tahoe but in Douglas County was evaluated quite differently than land in Washoe County, according to Barta.
"We want to present our case as a group," Barta said. "We are reasonable people with just issues." If this were not the case, he said, they wouldn't have been able to affect some of the regulations that they've addressed thus far.
"We want to end disputes," Barta said. If all of the offices involved face the real concerns and help create solutions, this can happen, he said.
