The property tax appeals process is one that most people rarely get to see, unless they happen to be H. LeRoy Whiteley, Jr. Whiteley is not only the president of Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation; he regularly appeals his own property tax assessments and is in the process of such an appeal in Harford County. One step in that process involves a hearing before the local Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board (PTAAB).
As Whiteley’s December 16, 2009 hearing date approaches, he is fighting attempts by PTAAB to limit the presentation of his case. Specifically, Whiteley seeks more time to present his material and he objects to a request that he refrain from recording his own proceedings.
Ironically, Whiteley also reports that he is one of three nominees proposed by County Executive David Craig to fill two vacancies on PTAAB. Whether or not he is ultimately appointed remains to be seen.
For now, Whiteley awaits a response to the following letter to PTAAB, a copy of which was provided to The Dagger.
Prefacing his letter, here is the email Whitely sent to all 11 of Harford County’s delegates and senators:
“Hello Delegates and Senators Here is a copy of our letter to the Harford County Property Assessment Appeals Board. As you can see this is another example of how the taxpayer is treated/ignored in the property tax assessment appeals process. This is another reason for you to support Senator Glassman’s efforts when he introduces the “Property Owners Bill of Rights” legislation this session. We hope you will be on board. Thank You. Roy Whiteley”
Here is Whiteley’s letter:
December 9, 2008
Harford County Property Tax Assessment Appeals Board
District Court Multi-Service Center
2 South Bond Street 4th Floor
Bel Air, Maryland 21014-8700RE: Appeal Number 09-444
Property Account #13 03/068668/196Ladies and Gentlemen:
Today we received your two letters in response to ours of December 4, 2009 to you.
The first is from Ms. Nancy Schmidbauer who has confirmed that the State will use the comparables contained in her July and October, 2008 letters to us to substantiate the value of our property. We will be prepared to address those properties.
The second, signed by the two current Board members, indicates that the hearing is limited to one half hour. It seems that Harford County chooses to ignore that they are paid by and work for County/State taxpayers. We have indicated that the material we propose to present will require more than one half hour to present. That being the case, we request that when we run out of time and have not yet finished our presentation the hearing be recessed and re-scheduled at a time when sufficient time can be allowed. We again request that the hearing be structured so that we are allowed at least one hour for the presentation of our material. Time for the State to rebut/defend should be extra.
Your letter also states, “We request that you do not record the hearing. There have never been any recordings, and we do not think your hearing should be any different.” You have not said we cannot record, what is that your position? Once again, Harford County has elected to completely ignore a reasonable request by a taxpayer that helps feed them. Many Counties allow the recording of their hearings. There is no specific law against recording of hearings. It is a valuable learning tool. And contrary to your statement that “There have never been any recordings….” That is just untrue. We have recorded our Harford County hearing on a previous occasion with now departed Stephen Lutche and Edward Hess in attendance. We therefore request that we be allowed to record our hearing using our own equipment that will not interfere with the hearing procedures.
Thank You.
Cordially,
H. LeRoy Whiteley, Jr.Harford County PTAAB Data Request.0901
Cc: Kent T Finkelsen
Nancy Schmidbauer
HCD
This story hits home. I just bought a house which the prop tax value is assessed higher then what the house appraised for by about 16% by both comparable sales and the cost to build approaches. I plan on appealing the prop tax assessment with the appraisal report as my primary means of support. Has anybody successfully appealed their property tax value in Harford County? Especially for a first time home buyer? The form says I can request a hearing or just turn in my documents without one. One part tells me that I should request a hearing, the other part says just turn in the documents and see what happens… Any advice?
You need to get the info from the assessment office that SDAT used as the basis for the value. They don’t look at each property but let a computer assign an average increase. Meet w/ the assessor on the first appeal, if you don’t like the result, appeal again to the Board and if you still don’t like it go to the tax court. Make sure you watch the filing deadlines or you’ll miss the opportunity.
It is a very informal process, just take the facts that rebut the info SDAT used. Online search is helpful on what will NOT be appealable. I got about 35% reduction. They had compared my property w/ one about 30% of the size, which inflated my value beyond reason. Comparable sales are good to have.
Good luck.
Ed, Please take the time to appeal the assessment. The process is time consuming, but most people that appeal get positive results.
The whole process is being re-evaluated now, and need to verify that people, taxpayers, want to change the system. Several delegates and senators have presented separate bills to the bill writing committees to generate new assessement measures. Del. McComas, Del. Impallaria, Del. McDonough, Del. Jennings and Del. Norman all presented bills for the bill writing commitee to develop that will incorporate a more fair assessment process. The bills are also supported by Senators Glassman, Jacobs and Harris. The other two delegates, Del. Dulaney James and Del. Dan Riley have not responded to our many requests for help in changing the rules. Please contact the congress delegates and senators and tell them that they need to pursue the bills that will give our county and state citizens relief.
FYI, the many citizens that attended the April Tea parties in Bel Air and in Havre de Grace were the main force behind lowering your property taxes, cap rate of increase of taxes, this year by 4%. I hope that the fact that the county exec. and council addressed this issue encourages citizens to take an active role in the county budget process.
In Jan. when the budget is put together and submitted, the various expenses that must or will be either cut or grown are paid for by the property taxes that we pay. When your child asks for more allowance, do you give it to him/her without finding out why? Why should the budget be funded without the similar questioning. I know that the hearings are long and drawn out, but the budget affects all of us. The property tax assessment is the basis for the amount of money generated by the county for its budget. If you think that it is inaccurate, question it. The size of govt. grows at the expense of personal freedom and the costs of govt. are paid for by taxing free citizens.
its quite funny that you make false claims against the two delegates of a different party affiliation only….and they happen to be the two you are possibly going to face in the general election!….you stand no chance kiddo
Harford Dem-
I am Mrs. Pat McGrady, not my son, Patrick McGrady, and he is the candidate. I hope you do realize your mistake and seriously consider your challenging statements. You were not a part of the tax day tea party, or the tax revolt tea party in May or June, or you would not be so quick to allege I am making false claims. Both Del.Riley and Dulaney-James were invited by me and our coalition of members to participate in the tea parties and the meetings and both were not able to attend or send a representative for them. I, Mrs. Pat McGrady, am calling you mis-informed. I assume that you made an honest mistake. I know that in this country each person has the Constitution guarantees free speech, however uninformed you seem to be.
Mrs. Pat McGrady,
HarfordDem was wrong about you being the candidate (easy to confuse though), but he/she is correct that your little boy “Patrick” stands NO chance of winning a general election against the incumbants.
“Yours in Liberty”!
Hangin’ Out
The size of the government grows at the expense of personal freedom? Are you saying that after the property tax cut during the summer I should have been more free? I spent the summer worrying about losing my job and coworkers (who do valuable important work in the community and are not faceless overpayed bureaucrats) losing theirs because of the tax cut you are so proud of and take credit for. You’re speaking in platitudes that might ring true to your fellow Tea Partiers but not to a lot of citizens.
Yes the costs of government are paid for by taxing free citizens, but that’s nothing new, in this country or most other countries that have a decent standard of living. Freedom and taxes are not mutually exclusive concepts. To me, taxes equal important services government provides to the community like roads, libraries, schools, help for the homeless, early intervention for children with disabilities…and all these county organizations endured significant budget cuts because of the property tax cut over the summer. As a community, we’re already seeing repercussions of these cuts; some are more obvious, like the cuts in library hours, but some are less noticeable and affect the long-term livability of a community.
Not to mention that cutting taxes during an economic downturn is not fiscally responsible; it’s something officials do to further their re-election goals in the short-term rather than looking at how decisions like this impact a community in the long run. Any more tax cuts in this county and there will be even more significant cuts to county services. But hey, I end up with a few more bucks in my pocket, who cares about the road…or the library…or the homeless…that’s the impression I get from people who are so focused on cutting taxes above all else….it’s all about the individual and his or her pocketbook rather than the community.
See you in January…
Kalmaia 78,
The size of govt. affects more than faceless bureaucrats. A wise elder gentlewoman stopped my husband at royal farms while getting gasoline and asked if he knew anything about that Patrick McGrady on the sign on his truck. She shared some info w/ him about the economic situation she sees now. She spoke about the number of unemployed young folks, and the numbers of one parent families and the numbers of teen agers on the streets and how when was young, her family worked as many jobs as they could to have money for the rent and for food for the family. She spoke about how her husband would go fishing and catch 5-10 fish and would sell the extra for cash so they could have money. She said now the fees, fines and costs to fish now are higher than he could sell the fish for now. She said that gov’t is making dependents out of our children and she said she is scared. I agree. The taxes we pay are not only property taxes. Any and all parts of people’s lives are being taxed, and that is what I object to, for me and for my children and grandchildren. So yes, I do see a need for taxes. I heard on the radio today that the CBO, (cong. budg.office) said today that each family of 4 people today would have owe today over $125,000.00/yr. for the next 30 years, just to break even. I am not sure of the numbers, but the amount is staggering. I will be at the hearings in Jan. too, come and say hello. Merry Christmas! Mrs. Pat McGrady
Big Momma Pat,
Was the “elder gentlewoman” WISE because you agree with her remarks? If so, then by extrapolation, you must think that you are smarter than the average citizen. By the way, where did you get your college degree?
P.S. I don’t want to return to the “good old days”, where the men had to hunt or fish for their meals!
I prefer the civilized life that we live today!
Hangin’ Out
I am Patrick McGrady, the candidate for the House of Delegates in 34A. I did not write the above post by “Pat McGrady.” I would just like to clarify that 🙂
But do you AGREE with mommy’s sentiments Junior?
Ed,,, First thing you need to do tomorrow is call your assessment department and ask if you property will be recieving a new assessment notice then end of this month. If you are getting one, look at the new value, if you disagree with it, turn the paper over and file your appeal,, I recommend in person appeals… bring a copy of your appraisal and addresses of any other similar property that has sold “arms-length” prior to the 31st of december 2009… remember arms-length means willing buyer/willing seller.. foreclosures, short sales, as-is sales, family sales etc are not arms-length transactions.. also was your sale a non arms-length then look around around for arms length sales,,,
you can appeal every year, not just when the property gets re-assessed. it does need to be appealed by 12/31.
Pat McGrady
I have responded to my constituents plea for a fair property tax assessment system. I have spoken at several public forums on this issue. I intend to support legislation this upcoming session for a more fair and equitable system. To say I have not responded to my constituent’s concerns on property taxes is inaccurate, to say the least. My record speaks for itself. Legislation I supported last session concerning property taxes are as follows, HB156, HB188, HB390, HB781, HB1101, HB1519, HB865, and HB1085.
If you would clear the tea bags from your eyes you would have a much clearer vision and make more accurate statements.
Dan Riley,
How long have you been involved in the effort to reign in property taxes? Was it just this past session?
Delegate Riley,
I’m sure you are standing up for the rights of citizens, but I see no reason to resort to mockery.
I didn’t write the above comments nor did I approve them for posting on my behalf.
Mr. McGrady surely you can understand how Mr. Riley percieved the comments above as coming from you. As you had not indicated at the time the poster was an imposter.
CDev
I am the poster from above and I never had a problem with using my name Pat McGrady. My son is Patrick McGrady and I am proud of him. I am proud of all of my children and my husband. I stand by my comments and am unashamed to use my name. In future posts I will sign it Mrs. Pat McGrady to avoid further confusion.
Thanks Mrs. McGrady, but you have been confused before using Pat. This will help avoid the confusion.
Del. Riley,
Thank you for your response. I did not see or hear you at the April tea party as you were away at your mom’s birthday in Ireleand, I believe is what you told me at the time, or at the other tea parties in May or June or July. I do not recall seeing or hearing you at any of our meetings to teach county citizens the appeal process. I do not recall getting any response about working with us to allow more imput to the assessment process by citizens. Several groups have been working on this including Mr. Whiteley’s group, the Americans for Prosperity, the Campaign for Liberty and other com. groups throughout the county. I apologize if I mis-represented your work. Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Braveheart I have been involved all my adult life in reigning in property taxes. I have appealed my taxes no less than 8 times and given instructions for others to do likewise. Citizens should realize if they, the assessors make a mistake and you do nothing, the mistake stays. In the late 80’s my whole neighborhood was assessed at commercial rates. I found this out when I appealed my taxes. My assessments were adjusted. I asked if they were going to inform my neighbors and the reply was NO! They said it is the responsibility of the homeowner. I did my best to inform my community. Some replied “if I repeal my taxes, my property value will go down”. Not true. The price for your house is determined by the seller and the buyer.
Delegate Dan
Thank you for your thoughtful reply.
At the October Edgewood Community Council meeting, you said that if we repealed the impact fee on new home construction, it would drive down the price of homes.
If you believed that, why would you now say that the price is set by market forces?
I understand if you don’t recall, as most politicians don’t.
Ed The assessment appeals process is at best cumbersome. Purposely so to discourage us taxpayers from appealing a biased, inequitable, non uniform and unfair tax setting assessment system. BUT BY ALL MEANS APPEAL EACH AND EVERY YEAR. our group Marylanders for Fair Property Taxation is fighting hard to get legislation passed by Senator Glassman and Delegate Norman to benefitus all the State and the taxyer. We need grass roots supporters. We need people in the seats at the haerings in Annapolis Come help us out.
Ed By all means appeal your assessment each and every year. Our group as part of our educational efforts tries to educate our fellow taxpayers. We don’t claim to be experts but do have some experience that may be helpful. If you care to, contact us at (410) 879-7993 and we will be glad to share some of our thoughts. Roy Whiteley
To Del Riley… After reading your comments, I don’t think you really understand the assessment appeals process.. First you cannot appeal your taxes, You can appeal your assessment… If someone does get a reduction in assessments, doesn’t mean their taxable assessment will go down, Read up on the homestead tax credit law.. , Home owners must have their assessment reduced below their taxable assessment to make any difference,,, Delegate Riley you need to learn a little more about the process before talking,,,
Mrs. Pat McGrady
I could not make the April meting to due my mom’s visit. I did attend several meeting on this topic. Don’t know if your organization was there or not. Meetings I attended were in Edgewood, Aberdeen, and Bel Air. The meeting in Ber Air was at the American Legion, Post 39. Mr. Roy Whiteley spoke as did my friends Senator Glassman and Delegate Norman. I spoke after Delegate Norman.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!
Roy Whiteley had his PTAAB hearing yesterday, which I attended. Whiteley was told just prior to the meeting that he would not be allowed to record the proceedings. But he was given time to present a detailed case (an in-depth analysis of comparable sales, complete with photos; trend data on the S& P/Case-Shiller home price index and regional home sales; and a disputation of the construction grade rating assigned to his property.)
Next, came a counter presentation in support of the state assessment by Nancy Schmidbauer, assistant supervisor in the Harford County Dept. of Assessments & Taxation. That was followed by and some back and forth between Ms. Schmidbauer and Whiteley.
Aside from my scribbling, no one appeared to be creating a record of what was said and I can’t understand why Whiteley would be barred from making his own. If nothing else, it would be of value for the next step in the appeals process, Tax Court. Or maybe that’s precisely the reason. To be fair, I didn’t ask. But for what it’s worth, Whiteley says Tax Court proceedings are recorded and copies can be had for $10; a written transcript goes for 65 cents/page. So if Whiteley’s appeal goes further, he’ll have a record.
For now, Whiteley awaits the outcome from the Harford County PTAAB hearing sometime in the next 30 days, probably sooner. But he did hear through the grapevine yesterday that he was not appointed by Governor O’Malley to fill one of two vacancies on the Harford County PTAAB Board – go figure.
Dear Edgewood,
You misquoted me. At the community meeting I said a reduction in the Impact Fee would lower the value of existing homes for sale. The price for any home is based on market value, location, and fees, such as the Impact Fee. One of the advantages of an Impact Fee is that people selling their homes is that the price of a new home is set at a higher price than a comparable existing home. When the Impact Fee is lowered, people selling existing homes have to lower their selling price to remain competitive.
How is your mom doing? I enjoy what she has to say.
Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas from my family to yours!
Hi Cindy Good coverage. Thanks for attending. It is a learning experience isn’t it? Roy Whiteley