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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 04 - Citizen Comments �, : . Gary M. Losada Soutfilake,Texas , 214-405-1416 EXPERIENCE: • Testified before Texas Senate Property Tax Reform Committee Hearing Aprii 27, 2016 • Tarrant County Appraisal Review Board • President of Office Liquidation Center and Aztec Glass • Served on Blue Chip Review CommittEes for Arlington Independent School District • Director of Human Resources, LN Kentron International • Assistant to Superintendent, Santa Rosa City Schools,Santa Rosa, California • Assistar�t to City Manager Pa{o Alto, Ca{ifornia EDUCATI011la • M.A. Degree Education/Organization Administration, Stanford University 1974 • B.A. Degree Sociology/Business Minor, University of San Francisco 1973 Residences� • Southlake,Tx 2013—Present • Arlington,Tx 1990—2013 Tarrant Co.Appraisal Review Board 2009-2015 Served as hearings committee chair all six years. Responsible for conducting hearings between Tarrant Appraisal District and taxpayers. Included residential, commercial and personal property taxes. Opined on various exemptions"and valuations of real estate. President—GMPL Corporation � Purchased raw fand for development. Presented various pfanned developments to city government/council and planning and zoning. President—Office Liquidation Center/Aztec Glass Company Purchased and sold new and used office furniture. Purchased and distributed wholesale glass imported from Mexico ta florists and grocery chains. Director of Adminis�rati�an-��allas Area (tapid Transit - Hired in second year of operation in order to organize and establish various departments such as human resources, purchasing, da�a processing, building and office mana�emen�as well as policy development. Director of Human R�sources—L�'V Kentron International/Oil States Ind. Chief Labor negotiator, responsit�l� for corporate wide staffing and training. Assistant to Superintenden�—S�nta Rosa City Schools, �anta Rosa, California Responsible for pupil transportation, data processing, Foard policy implementation and labor relations. Assistant to City Manager—Palo Afta, Cafiforn6a , Responsible for budget preparation, policy implementat9on public relations, special assignments by City Manager. t _ � TESTIMONY ' by Gary Losada for Texas Senate Property Tax Reform Committee Hearing Arlington,Texas �April 27, 2016 My name is Gary Losada and in December of 2015, I completed my 6th year as a member of the Tarrant County Appraisal Review Board. I would like to make it perfectly clear that I am not speaking in any official capacity as a member of the Tarrant County Appraisal Review Board. I am only speaking to you as a concerned individual. I have served as Chairperson of various panel hearing protests of taxpayers regarding property values. These protests include residential, commercial, business personal property and miscellaneous exemptions. t think it is about time that someone investigate manipulations and questionable practices regarding Appraisal Districts. Today, I will primarily address residential properties. Also in the audience . are 3 former Board Members whom I served with who ti�ish not to testify. The current system in place is onerous and intimidating to the taxpayer and weighted in favor of the Appraisal District. Appraisal Districts have evolved into adversaries. I think they have forgotten that they should be servants of.the people. I have personally witnessed this over and over again. I want to bring to your attention problems within the system that need to be addressed. Broadly they relate to issues that relate to.the taxpayer, issues that relate to Tarrant Appraisal District(TAD),and issues that relate to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). Taxpayer Issues It is my wild guess that less than 10%of the accounts established by the Tarrant Appraisal District are protested each year. Why is this number so fow? Because the Appraisal District is doing such a great job? I think not. That number is related to several reasons: 1. Frustration about how to work within the system 2. Lack of clarity on how to protest 3. Lack of information _ 4. Evidence that is manipulated 5. Time involved ' 6. Many other issues So what happens to the taxpayer and what to do? The current system demonstrates the need for tax agents and there are plenty. The Tarrant Appraisal District(TAD� in many instances view Tax Agents as the enemy. Tax Agents in my opinion,are extensions of the taxpayer. While I can tell you that there are some overly aggressive tax agents,there are too many overly aggressive District Appraisers as well. The taxpayer gets caught in the middle. This needs to stop. Most taxpayers are not represented which in fact causes,in my opinion,unfair values. � _ � The other problem with this scenario of representation is that it is costly to the taxpayer and taxing - entity. If the Appraisal District could get it right and keep it reasonable at the outset, money could be saved that would go to the tax entities,the taxpayer and into the local economy.� TAD Issues The new computer system at TAD is not user friendly and difficult to navigate: 1. Evidence information relating to individual accounts is not readily available. An example is "for value over market"and "unequal " protests: 2. District Appraisers will not volunteer assistance. You have to know the right questions to ask and most taxpayers don't know. 3. The new system has no definition as to what the condition of the property might be to comparables. It is difficult to understand and in most cases impossible to define" Poor, Below Average,Average,Good or Excellent". The district is not forthcoming in this area and much is left to subjective opinion. 4. The new system (or District Appraisers)will not define or explain what the term "feature" means or how the value was determined. 5. The new system,regarding comparable properties,gives 6 comps which in most cases are questionable and difficult to understand and will give an indicated value which is not explained. This applies to"value over market"evidence as well as "unequal" evidence. Appraisal notices that are sent out every year indicate 2 values: Appraised Value and Market Value. - The taxpayers that claim a homestead exemption can rest assured that the higher market value will be a built in appraised value increase the following year,which translates to higher taxes. The 10% homestead exemption cap is not effective. Appraisal notices also break up total assessment between land and improvement value. The District will increase value of land one year and then come back the next year and raise the improvement value. The district does not provide evidence of land value in most cases. The taxpayer is told as well as the ARB that the land value cannot be challenged separately when there is an improvement on the property. This is ridiculous and has to change. There is no ability to protest this unfair assessment. In 2016, I know a subdivision in Southlake called East Chapel Downs where all of the land values have gone from $40,000 to$80,000 with no explanation. The District surely increases values of residential properties when evidence dictates, but will not necessarily lower values unless a taxpayer protests. The District has clear advantages on sales information. The Taxpayer has to contact a Realtor or subscribe to MLS or contact an agent as mentioned earlier. The District can and does raise assessed values year after year even after an ARB determination ruling is made. This is not right and forces a taxpayer to file a protest every year. Some issues I have had to deal with as a Chairman of an Appraisal Review Board are numerous and frustrating. 1 have listed some of them for your consideration: 1. Substantial evidence sfiould be the standard for the Appraisal Uistrict. "Substantial"evidence is defined as considerable in quantity. However, the District has taken the position that evidence can be i ' � as little as a "scintilla" in order for the District to prevail. "Scintilla" is defined as a minute amount or the weight of a feather. 2. The mass appraisal system does not work. Some homeowners improve their properties with various amenities while others do not. Some hom.eowners maintain their properties better than others. Mass appraisals cannot possibly make va(ues equal and uniform. There is no such thing and that is why properties sell for different amounts. 3. Comparing and adjusting a 1,5d0 square foot home to a 5,000 sq ft home just does not work. 4. Comparing a golf course view lot to an interior lot in a golfing community just does not work. 5. Comparing a lake front property to a property that does not even have a lake view just does not �work. 6. Taking the sale of vacant land,especially around a lake and then assessing other properties with improvements on them at the same land value just does not work. 7. Comparing sales of a property constructed in 2015 to a.property constructed in 1950 just does not work. 8. Scheduling of protests for taxpayers and the AR8 is a problem and needs to be addressed. � 9. The ARB is provided less and less information needed to make a decision. A. Square footage of property B. Footprint of property, etc. ARB Issues The ARB is now the real first line of appeals for a taxpayer to protest. In prior years,a taxpayer could go to the TAD office, meet with an appraiser, provide evidence and negotiate a value. It is my understanding that procedure no longer exists. A taxpayer can meet with a District Appraiser who will accept evidence and then present it to a group of appraisers for review. This new policy puts an unfair burden on the taxpayer and the ARB. It is also my understanding that during an ARB hearing the taxpayer will have only 4 minutes to present their case. While this is a new policy for 2016, it is an impossible situation for taxpayers and is quite intimidating. The Appraisal District and the Appraisal Review,Board are intended to operate as independent organizations. I can tell you that they are nof totally separate. Examples of this are in the preparation of ARB budgets,staffing of the ARB by and with TAD employees, locations of offices in the same buildings and the County Tax Appraisal District Board of Directors overseeing both organizations. Also related to the administration of the ARB and its members are the following issues: 1. Appointments are made by a local judge. It is my understanding that the judge holds no interviews and does little screening. 2. The Chairperson of the ARB who oversees the day to day performance of potential members is not allowed any input in the selection process. ' 3. There are no guidelines for the removal of an ARB member,the Chairperson of the ARB,ARB co- members or for that matter members of the public are not allowed to have any contact or input regarding removal of a boa'rd member. ln essence,there is no accountability for ARB members who can serve up to 3 2-year terms. 4. Currently Appraisal Review Board m'embers do not have any input regarding the Chairperson position of the ARB. The Appraisal District Board of Directors makes this appointment. It is my opinion that the Chairperson should be selected each year from ARB membership. .- � ` � � I believe the tax code states that appraisal notifications are to be mailed to taxpayers by April 1st of each year. For the most part,this requirement is ignored. This puts an unfair burden on the taxpayer and the ARB when trying to review and resolve values�in such a condensed time frame. In conclusion,the abuses of Appraisal Districts are riumerous and the opinions rendered on values are arbitrary and usually not based on fact. Mass appraisals are ridiculous, unfair and seldom accurate. The burden on residential homeowners is onerous. I read the other day that Texas is the 5th highest property tax state in the country. Change needs to occur immediately before a Proposition 13 (such as what happened in California) is proposed. Thaf would be a disaste�. But how mucfi longer can the average homeowner taxpayer keep paying crippling taxes while their salaries and income are not going up at the same pace or even going down? How many people will be forced out of their homes because they can't afford to pay their taxes?Or,those who are squeezed out of their rentals because their rents go up due to a steep rise in taxes? I have never witnessed as closely such an out-of-control system without any brakes. Thank you for listening.