1 CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STEPHEN P. CLARK, METRO … · 2015-03-12 ·...
Transcript of 1 CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS STEPHEN P. CLARK, METRO … · 2015-03-12 ·...
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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT REPORTERS, INC. (305) 373-5600
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CLERK OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERSSTEPHEN P. CLARK, METRO DADE GOVERNMENT CENTER
111 N.W. 1st Street, 2nd FloorConference Room
Wednesday, October 23, 2014 @ 11:00 a.m.
VALUE ADJUSTMENT BOARDINTERGOVERNMENTAL SERVICES DIVISION
BOARD MEMBERS(Present)
Lynda Bell, ChairwomanCarlos Curbelo, School Board
Hani Jardack
VAB ATTORNEY
Manuel A. Blanco, Esq.
COUNTY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Jorge Martinez-EsteveAssistant County Attorney
STAFF
Honorable Lazaro Solis, Property AppraiserRobert Alfaro, VAB Manager
VAB Staff
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A G E N D A
Page
I. Convene the 2014 VAB and implement 3Department of Revenue (DOR) RULESgoverning VAB organizational meetings
II. Discussion of prehearing checklist 11pursuant to DOR Rule 12D-9.014
III. Authorization and approval of initial 12certification of the 2014 unadjustedTax Rolls pursuant to F.S.Sec.193.122.
IV. Approval of VAB Forms for Tax Year 132014
V. Approve administrative procedures, 14filing fees and reschedulingguidelines for the 2014 Tax Year
VI Employment of Special Magistrates 16
VII Other Business --
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COMMISSIONER BELL: Good morning,
everybody. And thank you. And welcome to
the Value Adjustment Board organizational
meeting of October 23, 2014.
And we have to convene this meeting,
and we have to abide by the Department of
Revenue rules governing the VAB
organizational meetings. And this is that
meeting of the year, the exciting meeting.
But, you know, before I get started,
since we're in chambers, let's go ahead
and do the pledge. Would you join me.
(Pledge of Allegiance).
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you so
much.
At this time, I'm going to turn it
over to Mr. Alfaro and then the attorney
for the discussion of the pre-hearing
checklist pursuant to Department of
Revenue Rules 12D-9090014. Thank you.
MR. ALFARO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
Like I said, we have a quorum.
Mr. Manny Blanco, our new attorney,
will take over at this point.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
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MR. BLANCO: Good morning, Madam
Chair.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Good morning.
MR. BLANCO: Members of the Board,
members of the Property Appraiser's
Office, Mr. Assistant County Attorney, we
have a quorum.
As Robert stated, in attendance, it's
Mr. Carlos Curbelo on behalf of the School
Board; yourself, as the Commissioner, and
Mr. Hani Jardack, as a member, citizen
member.
This is the 2014 Annual Value
Adjustment Board, as you earlier stated,
organizational meeting. At which time
we'd like to adopt various resolutions and
take certain action that are prescribed by
the Department of Revenue under the rules
in Chapter 12D9 of the administrative
code.
I am looking at the agenda in your
kit, that's in your kit at this moment,
and I'm going to follow it for the
purposes of this meeting.
Under I, there are nine items listed,
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which are DOR requirements for us to do
one by one, with three of them requiring
resolutions. These will be items 1, 3 and
8.
Item No. 1, the first order of
business, is the appointment and
ratification of me, Manuel Blanco, as
attorney for the Value Adjustment Board,
for the tax year of 2014 through 2015.
As you recall, we had a rather
lengthy process, which extends for
actually more than a year.
My contact information is provided in
your kits and additional copies may be
obtained from Mr. Alfaro, if needed.
We will need a resolution ratifying
me as counsel, if you may.
COMMISSIONER BELL: I'd like to move
that at this time. Is there -- actually,
let me ask for a motion to ratify the
appointment of Manny Blanco as the VAB's
legal counsel.
It's been properly moved.
Is there a second? I can second it.
It's been properly moved and seconded.
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Anybody wish to be recorded no?
Seeing none, welcome aboard, Mr.
Blanco.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
Item No. 2, I earlier stated that the
members of the Board, which were currently
present and the respective contact
information are also provided in your
kits. Additional copies may also be
obtained from Mr. Alfaro.
Item No. 3, which will require a
resolution. Mr. Robert Alfaro was also
present as the designee of the Clerk, the
Honorable Harvey Ruvin, for the Value
Adjustment Board. His contact information
is also in your kits.
We will need a resolution for this as
well, appointing Mr. Alfaro as designee of
the VAB.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Is there a motion
to approve Mr. Alfaro?
It's been properly moved.
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: Second.
COMMISSIONER BELL: And seconded.
Any discussion? Anybody wish to be
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recorded no?
Thank you very much.
Mr. Alfaro, thank you.
MR. ALFARO: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Item No. 4, Chapter
12D-9, 12D-10, Florida Administrative Code
containing the uniform rules of procedures
for hearings before the adjustment boards,
and special magistrates and the associated
forms adopted by the DOR are available in
Mr. Alfaro's office as well as on the web.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Item No. 5, the Florida
Government in the Sunshine manual must be
made available to the public, to special
magistrates and to the VAB members and may
be obtained in Mr. Alfaro's office as well
as on the web.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Number 6, the DOR rules
12D-51, as well as the Florida Statutes
192 through 195 are also available in Mr.
Alfaro's office as well as on the web.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Okay.
MR. BLANCO: Number 7, the next item
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is to discuss the general information,
Florida's property tax system. The
respective roles within the system,
taxpayer's opportunities to participate in
the system and the property taxpayer's
rights.
Generally, the Florida tax system is
an ad valorem tax system, meaning, it's a
tax that's levied based on property on the
value of property both real and personal.
Initially, the property appraiser, in
this case Mr. Lazaro Solis, his department
makes the original assessment, meaning the
values, the property based on fair market
value as of January 1st of the tax year.
It then becomes a matter of public
record through the TRIM notice procedure,
which goes out at the end of August of
each year. And I believe that the
deadline for the filing for this year was
on September 16th.
If the taxpayer disagrees with the
TRIM notice and disagrees with the
assessment or lack of an exemption, he or
she feels, deserves, then he or she can
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petition the VAB for us to look at their
case through hearing process.
Our special magistrate, who you have
appointed in order to hear these cases,
may recommend a reduction or grant an
exception -- an exemption, which wasn't
granted, if he or she is impressed and
satisfied with the evidence presented.
If either party is not happy with the
decision, the taxpayer or the property
appraiser may appeal with the circuit
court.
Number 8, it's to adopt or ratify by
resolution any filing fees from petitions
filed for the tax year 2014, not to exceed
$15 per parcel. As you know, this has
been the fee for many years now and we
need a resolution to continue charging a
max of $15 per parcel.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Is there a motion
to approve the $15 max?
It's been properly moved, and I'll
second it.
Anybody wishing to discuss this item?
This is set by state law.
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MR. BLANCO: That's right.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Anyone wish to be
recorded no? The item carries.
Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Number 9, Mr. Alfaro has
advised me that the tangible personal
property of the legal hearings of the 2014
tax year should be starting at the end of
this year. The real property hearings
will not begin until some time next year
due to the high volume of petitions, but
an effort is being made to expedite these
hearings.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you.
The following item, II, must be fully
read as regard by the auditor general's
report, so I just got to read this, so
bear with me.
COMMISSIONER BELL: You have to bear
with us. These are housekeeping items
that we have to do to comply.
MR. BLANCO: II, discussion of
pre-hearing checklist pursuant to the DOR
rule 12D-9.014.
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Number 1, the Board is composed as
provided by law.
Number 2, the Board legal counsel is
appointed as provided by law.
Number 3, the Board legal counsel
meets the requirements of Florida Statute
Section 194.015.
Number 4, no Board members represent
government entities or taxpayers in any
administrative or judicial review of
property taxes and no citizen member of
the Board are members or employees of
taxing authority during their membership
on the Board.
Number 5, the organizational meeting
was noticed in accordance with Florida
Statute Section 286.011, and is being held
in accordance with law.
Number 6, the DOR's rules, procedures
and laws for Value Adjustment Boards are
being provided per paragraph 1, 3 --
paragraph 1, 3, 4 and 5 above.
Number 7, the DOR's rules, procedures
and laws are available on the clerk's web
site.
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Number 8, the qualifications,
training and certification of special
magistrates were verified.
Number 9, the selection of special
magistrates was based solely on proper
experience and qualifications. Neither
the property appraiser nor the Petitioner,
any Petitioner influence the selection of
special magistrates.
Number 10, all procedures and forms
of Value Adjustment Board are in
compliance with Florida Statute 194 and
the Board is otherwise in compliance with
Chapter 194.
Number 11, notice has been given to
the Chief Executive Officer of each
municipality in Miami-Dade County as
provided by Florida Statute 193.116.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Next Item.
MR. BLANCO: III is the authorization
and approval of the initial certifications
for the 2014 tax year unadjusted tax
roles, pursuant to Florida Statute
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193.122.
Madam Chair, at this time, Mr.
Alfaro's officers will be providing you
with the certifications for 2014 and
adjusted for your signature.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you, Mr.
Alfaro.
MR. ALFARO: No problem. Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
Okay, the following item, IV,
requires a resolution by the Board
ratifying and approving the forms for the
2014 tax year. A copy of each form has
been provided to all of you in your kits.
These forms have been previously approved
by the DOR and have been used in previous
tax years.
We need a resolution to continue
using these forms.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Sir, is your
motion to continue using the forms?
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: So moved.
COMMISSIONER BELL: It's been
properly moved and it's been properly
seconded.
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Any discussion?
Seeing none, the item carries. Thank
you.
Any opposition? The item carries.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
The following items in V are items
required for the VAB to operate. The
details are very lengthy and are available
to you on your agendas provided.
I'm just going to summarize and read
them. These are, A, the implementation of
the VAB administrative procedures.
B, the authorization for the
retention and/or refund of filing fees
paid on erroneous or duplicate petitions.
Note for these -- for this one, the staff
and I recommend that we retain all
erroneous duplicate fees in order to
offset administrative cost involved in
processing them.
COMMISSIONER BELL: I'd agree with
that.
MR. BLANCO: Okay, C, Rescheduling
Guidelines. These are reasons for
rescheduling, other than the free
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reschedule that everybody is afforded.
And, D, the appeals of decisions
rendered by the special magistrates.
Note, since 1977, the Board has declined
to hear the de novo appeals from any --
from the decisions of special magistrates,
either from taxpayers or the property
appraiser's office, directing all such
appeals to the circuit court, which has
original jurisdiction in all matters
relating to property taxation.
Madam Chair, we need a resolution
adopting all these items listed under V.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Is there a motion
for approval?
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: So moved.
COMMISSIONER BELL: It's been
properly moved and it's been seconded.
Any discussion on this item -- items,
plural?
Seeing none, is anybody opposed?
The item carries.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Next item.
MR. BLANCO: The following item is
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VI, is the employment of special
magistrates.
Okay, A on your agenda is the Board
previously adopted the foregoing special
magistrate compensation schedule on a
continuum schedule, i.e. to be applied in
future years until such time as the Board
may, in its absolute discretion, determine
otherwise.
The Board has also retained the power
to schedule and/or discharge special
magistrates in its absolute discretion
with or without cause.
The clerk requests the Board to
appoint and hire special magistrates to
serve for the 2014 tax year on the
foregoing terms and conditions, including
the payment of compensation for such
service.
The clerk also requests the Board to
consider and determine the procedures to
be followed in appointing special
magistrates for the 2014 tax year,
including the numbers to be appointed and
conduct interviews in the appointment
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process.
Due to the anticipated overlap of
hearings into the tax year 2015, the staff
further requests that all such
appointments be effective during the tax
year 2015, to the extent necessary to
complete the VAB year in process, i.e.
until the next organizational meeting.
B is the employment of replacement
special magistrates for the 2013 tax year.
In a memo sent to all the Board members
last week, all my predecessor Robert
Tischenkel and the staff has informed me
that we have a problem with keeping up
with hearings since the VAB has lost at
least three magistrates, myself included,
and we need to replace them in order to
continue to expedite the hearings for
2013.
We are recommending that three
property magistrates, which applied for,
qualified for and/or interviewed for the
2013 tax year, but were not selected, be
appointed for the remainder of the 2013
tax year. These shall be -- these shall
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help alleviate the absence of the other
magistrates. All three of these
magistrates have served in the past and
have had no issues whatsoever and will not
require any additional training, which is
a plus.
COMMISSIONER BELL: I appreciate
that. And I think in light of efficiency
and being expeditious, I think that was
wise.
Do you need a motion for that?
MR. BLANCO: Yes, we should get a
resolution for that, Madam Chair.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Certainly.
Is there a motion to approve the
three?
It's been properly moved and --
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: Second.
COMMISSIONER BELL: -- seconded by
Mr. Curbelo.
Any discussion on these items?
Anyone wish to be recorded no? They
carry.
Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you, Madam Chair.
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For the 2014 tax year, the staff is
reporting that there is no need to hire
any additional attorney magistrates. So
are we are recommending that you retain
the same 10 magistrates currently serving
in the 2014 tax year, all of them which
were checked and verified by my
predecessor and were also verified by me
and remain qualified.
COMMISSIONER BELL: And also went
through a lengthy process last year.
MR. BLANCO: That is correct.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Right.
MR. BLANCO: As for the appraiser
magistrates, in order to expedite the
hearings for the 2014 tax year and try to
complete them within the year, we are
recommending that all the appraiser
magistrates currently serving for the 2013
tax year be rehired. And, in addition,
that we hire five more for a total of 30.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Under the
appraiser magistrate.
MR. BLANCO: Under the appraiser
magistrates, that is correct.
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COMMISSIONER BELL: And the five are
from the pool of last year or there's
going to be a new pool?
MR. BLANCO: There's going to be a
new pool. They're all here present.
They've been noticed and --
COMMISSIONER BELL: So we're going to
hear from them this morning.
MR. BLANCO: We're going to hear from
them this morning.
COMMISSIONER BELL: That's what I
would like. Very good.
MR. BLANCO: We had about
63,000 cases last year, which is less than
last year, but in order to expedite the
hearings, we will need these additional
magistrates.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Absolutely.
Ready to proceed?
MR. ALFARO: Madam Chair, at this
point I'm going to call the candidates, so
they can come and give you a small
presentation.
And the clerk has given you the
ballot sheet, which contains the 12
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candidates that will be coming up for the
interview.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Perfect. Thank
you. I think we should give them, I
think, two minutes, two, three minutes.
MR. ALFARO: That's fine.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Does that sound
good? Two minutes? Okay, okay, let's
give everybody two minutes.
And this Board has the ability to
call somebody back up, if they have any
questions, or if there's anything left
unsaid. I know we can say a lot in a
couple of minutes, so let's continue.
MR. ALFARO: First person will be Ted
Allen and Kevin Dalton.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Queue up on each
podium. And then after you introduce
yourself, then we'll start the clock.
There's supposed to be another person up
here.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Yes.
MR. ALFARO: Kevin Dalton. He's not
here.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Is Kevin Dalton
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here? No.
Welcome.
MR. ALLEN: Thank you. Good morning.
My name is Ted Allen. I have been trained
as an appraiser for a number of years.
With regards to my educational background,
which you should have in the package, my
college, formal education was from the
University of Texas at Austin. There I
have a BBA, Business. My concentration of
studies is real estate as well as
accounting.
I started my real estate career in
January of 1979, in Dallas. Worked there
for five years, obtained my MAI
designation, moved to Miami, have been an
appraiser in Miami since 1984.
My practice is primarily commercial.
We do residential, but generally large
condominium projects, and as such.
I'm the managing partner of the Miami
office as well as one of the managing
partners of the firm. The firm itself,
just like an associates, which I am
employed with or partnered with, was
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formed in 1947. In New York, we have 10
offices around the country, roughly 100
employees, primarily engaged all in
commercial real estate appraisal.
One might ask me why I would want to
do this. I will say that we've done work
for the County as well as worked for the
City of Miami. Appraisers, very rarely,
ever get an opportunity or a chance to put
anything back into the community or do any
community service or anything such as
that.
Unlike attorneys, who pro bono, so on
and so forth, I'm not saying it's pro
bono, but we do very seldom get the
opportunity to put something back. And
this is one of the things that the other
two partners in the Miami office and I
discussed and decided it might be a good
thing to actually do. So thank you.
Do you have any questions?
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you. Thank
you very much. Any questions? Thank you.
MR. ALFARO: Ivan Guerra, Ezekiel
Michael. I apologize if I mispronounced
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your name.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Welcome. Ivan,
start first please.
MR. GUERRA: Hi, my name is Ivan
Guerra. I've been appraising for a little
over 12 years. The last eight years
mainly focused on commercial properties.
I'm a candidate for my designation, my MAI
designation with the Appraisal Institute.
The last few years, like I said,
mostly focused on all types of commercial
property, from land, retail to office to
industrial.
Any questions?
COMMISSIONER BELL: I like brevity.
It's wonderful. Thank you very much.
Yes.
MR. MICHAEL: Yes. My name Ezekiel
Jeff Michael. I have a bachelor's in
business administration from the
University of Oregon. I've lived in Miami
since 2000, and I've been a commercial
real estate appraiser since then.
My background is primarily
commercial. And I'm bilingual. And I'm
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familiar with the VAB procedures as my
partner has been a magistrate for some
years, so I'm familiar with the process.
COMMISSIONER BELL: So you said
you're familiar with VAB procedures?
MR. MICHAEL: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BELL: You've said --
excuse me one second. So you've been an
appraiser for 12 years?
MR. MICHAEL: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BELL: But you said
you're a candidate?
MR. MICHAEL: For my MIA designation.
COMMISSIONER BELL: For your MIA
designation. Perfect.
And you are primarily commercial?
MR. MICHAEL: Yes.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Okay. Thank you.
Thank you very much, both of you.
MR. ALFARO: Chad Sites and Ralph
Abraham.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Welcome,
Gentlemen. We'll hear from Chad first.
Then Ralph Abraham.
MR. ABRAHAM: Yes, my name is Ralph
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Abraham. I reside in Aventura, Florida.
I have a state certified general real
estate appraiser's license. And I've
served as a special magistrate from 1995
to 2013. I took a break in 2013. I would
appreciate the opportunity to serve again.
Any questions?
COMMISSIONER BELL: No. Thank you.
MR. ABRAHAM: Okay.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Yes, sir.
MR. SITES: My name is Chad Sites.
I'm a certified general appraiser. I hold
an SRA with the Appraisal Institute. I've
been appraising for 37 years. I began my
appraisal career in Oklahoma and relocated
to Florida. I currently reside in Lake
Worth, but I'm relocating to Miramar
within the next 30 days. I sold my house
there.
I've handled a wide variety of
different property types from residential
to commercial. I handle all kinds of
unique properties. I've done psychiatric
hospitals. I've done power plants. I've
done all kinds of unique properties.
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One of my specialties is triple net
properties. I've been a triple net
property owner, both U.S. post office type
properties. Also in the Blockbuster store
and an auto parts store under triple type
ownership.
I've owned and operated a brokerage
company where we owned our own real
estate, single-family, multifamily
condominium and shopping centers. And
we've also managed those types of
properties for other people.
I'm a Miami Dolphins season ticket
holder, which I think it's incredibly
important.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Sure, play the
Dolphins card.
MR. SITES: And in six days, it's go
Miami Heat.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you. Thank
you very much.
Any questions, anybody?
Okay, next.
MR. ALFARO: David Hume. Petrick
Kalle.
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COMMISSIONER BELL: Welcome.
MR. KALLE: Which one first?
COMMISSIONER BELL: Can I have David
first, please?
MR. HUME: Yes, my name is David
Hume. I now have 38 years of real estate
appraisal experience here in Dade County.
I'm a Miami native. I grew up in Coconut
Grove, went through the public school
system, graduated from the University of
Miami with a degree in real estate and
finance. Then went on to be a staff
appraiser at a savings and loan in Miami
Beach, followed by a position as a
commercial review appraiser in a major
bank in downtown Miami.
1983, I obtained my MAI designation.
And in 1984, I started my own appraisal
firm in Coral Gables. And I've been
involved in that activity pretty much ever
since.
Most of my client base has been
lenders. In the good times, as appraisals
have been for exciting new projects,
proposed condominiums, sort of like what's
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going on in Edgewater today, maybe. In
the bad times, foreclosures times,
recessionary times, most of the appraisals
I've prepared were in anticipation of
litigation, which then resulted in me
appearing as an expert witness in
bankruptcy court and circuit court.
That then was a natural segue to
presenting property tax appeals before the
Value Adjustment Board for some or many of
the properties I had appraised that were
in the foreclosure process and in the
court process. And in many of those
cases, in those hearings, those properties
legitimately deserved consideration for
reduction.
I did that process for about five
years. Then returned to my normal
practice, mostly in lender work and more
recently in appraisal review work.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Perfect. Thank
you very much.
Mr. Petrick.
MR. PETRICK: Good morning, Madam
Chair, Members of the Board and counsel.
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I'm Kalle Petrick. I'm a certified
general appraisal. I've been appraising
in Miami-Dade for 12 years. I have a
thorough knowledge of all areas of the
County and I'm familiar with appraising
multiple kinds of property, a list of
which has been provided to the Board.
It would be a privilege to serve. I
believe that I have the knowledge and
experience to perform with competency and
fairness. And because I am an independent
fee appraisal, I enjoy great scheduling
and flexibility and can be available as
the Board requires.
In addition to the foregoing, I
consider myself to be technologically very
competent in terms of technology. I teach
other real estate appraisers PC and
advanced Excel skills, so that they can up
their game, if you will.
Thank you for considering me.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you. Thank
you, Gentlemen.
MR. ALFARO: Mr. Gregory Gunter and
Scott Watson. Gregory Gunter, Scott
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Watson.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Next.
MR. ALFARO: Michael Baldwin and
Zilla Tarkoe, Zilla Tarkoe.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Welcome.
MR. BALDWIN: Hello.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Go right ahead.
MR. BALDWIN: Yes, my name is Michael
Baldwin. I am with Salus Valuation Group.
We specialize in health care properties.
And Miami has tons of living facilities.
We mostly deal with investment properties.
I've worked on a couple of tax appeal
cases, not locally, but across the country
that were for commercial properties. So
everything we do is for health care
properties. They're very complex and
specialized properties when we're
valuating the business enterprise as well
as the real estate.
I'm an MAI, also an ASA. And I teach
webinars with the ASA with the health care
special interest group.
I have not ever appraised
single-family homes. I'm strictly in the
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commercial space. We've got a team of
about 12 appraisers all doing health care
work.
And I'm very computer savvy,
everything possible with Excel. I
understand the adjustment board has, you
know, some kind of computer system. On
the requirements, it said where computer
skills were important. I've never seen
it, but I'm very competent in those kinds
of things.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BALDWIN: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you very
much.
Next one.
MR. ALFARO: There's nobody else. So
we need you to choose five out of that 12.
Actually, we have --
COMMISSIONER BELL: So --
MR. ALFARO: -- seven that showed up.
COMMISSIONER BELL: So Zilla did not
show up.
MR. ALFARO: Zilla is not here.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Okay. So
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basically 1, 2, 3, 4 were a no show. And
we need to just pick five.
MR. ALFARO: That's correct.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
Everybody, go ahead and mark your sheets
and turn them in.
Yes, sir.
MR. AGUIRRE: Was there going to be
an opportunity for public comment on this
process?
COMMISSIONER BELL: There wasn't, but
that you have -- let me give you a minute,
because I don't want to turn anybody away
from public comment.
MR. AGUIRRE: Thank you so much.
COMMISSIONER BELL: My pleasure. I'm
going to give you a minute, okay?
MR. AGUIRRE: Thank you, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair, distinguished members of the
Board and members of our County
government, I want to thank you for this
opportunity. I did send a letter
yesterday requesting this, and my
apologies if --
COMMISSIONER BELL: May I have your
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name and address for the record, please.
MR. AGUIRRE: Correct, Alejandro
Aguirre.
COMMISSIONER BELL: We'll start the
clock after we get your name and address
to give you your full minute.
MR. AGUIRRE: Alejandro Aguirre, 7504
Southwest 78 Terrace. I'm here on behalf
of Tax Savers, representative for
taxpayers.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. AGUIRRE: Thank you very much,
Madam Chair.
I just wanted to make one point.
I've looked over, as you have, the
candidates, and have found that they are
all people who are very accomplished,
excellent people, but I do have to point
out from somebody who has worked with a
company that represents the taxpayers,
that I would wish that special attention
would be paid to those people whose
primary body of work and primary location
has been within our County.
As you know, there's been a backlog
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of cases. And each Board now carries a
load of 60 cases. And it's very important
that we have people who are very, very
familiar with all of the neighborhoods, so
that we can get expediency without
sacrificing quality. And for that reason,
I wanted to address the Board. And I
thank you for this opportunity.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you very
much. I appreciate that. Thank you very
much, everybody. Take a few minutes to
vote.
MR. BLANCO: Madam Chair, while you
are -- while the ballots are being
tallied, I just wanted to report under VII
that Value Adjustment Board has received
62,000 applications thus far. And that
satisfies VII. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Let's see how
many attempts we have at this, or if we're
all on the same page.
While they're tallying how many
petitions were filed last year? I know
it's decreasing thing. Thank goodness.
MR. BLANCO: I believe there were
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67,000 last year.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Okay. Which had
dropped substantially from prior year?
MR. BLANCO: We're at 62 to 63,000
this year.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Perfect. Thank
you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you.
MR. ALFARO: Madam Chair, we have six
applicants with the majority of the votes.
It's up to you, if you want to go to a
second ballot, or we hire an extra
magistrate.
COMMISSIONER BELL: There are -- hum,
this is a good question. With 63,000,
what's the total number of magistrates
that we have currently plus the five that
we're hiring?
MR. ALFARO: It's going to be a total
of 30.
COMMISSIONER BELL: For 63,000?
MR. ALFARO: Correct.
COMMISSIONER BELL: I say we hire all
six.
MR. ALFARO: Okay. I'm going to read
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out the names, if you want me to.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Absolutely. Do
we need a motion for that, though, to hire
the six?
MR. BLANCO: I would suggest that we
do a motion.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Is there a motion
to hire the extra person to make it six
instead of five?
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: So moved.
COMMISSIONER BELL: It's been
properly moved and it's been properly
seconded.
Any discussion on this item? Seeing
none, thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you.
MR. ALFARO: The applicants are Ted
Allen, Ivan Guerra, Ezekiel Michael, David
Hume, Kalle Petrick and Michael Baldwin.
Congratulations.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you very
much. Thank you very much for being part
of the process.
MR. BLANCO: Madam Chair, if I may,
just for the record, for the 2013 tax
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year, the replacement magistrates, I just
want to list them for the record.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Please.
MR. BLANCO: There will be Mr. Jose
Ortega, Mr. Adrian Gonzalez and Mr.
Harvell Gray.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you.
MR. BLANCO: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Do you need a
motion for that?
MR. BLANCO: No, that already passed.
Those are just the names for the record of
the three.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Any other
business, besides the announcement?
MR. BLANCO: No other business.
COMMISSIONER BELL: I want to thank
everybody for being here today. I want to
thank you very much and everybody that
I've gotten to know their faces, this is
my last Value Adjustment Board meeting.
And I want to thank you for being so
participatory, offering your opinions,
your commentary. Actually, it's had a lot
of weight, and it's carried a lot of
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weight with me. And I just want to thank
you all for your time, for your efforts in
this community. And just all of you be
very well. Thank you.
Can I hear -- one other comment.
I want to compliment also Mr. Solis,
Lazaro. You've been phenomenal. You've
just been superb filling in. And I know
we're about to have an election in a
couple of weeks. And I want to thank you
publicly for your service. And you have
really risen to the occasion. And let me
tell you I've just been proud of your job,
your performance and your accomplishments.
Thank you.
Mr. Curbelo.
BOARD MEMBER CURBELO: Madam Chair, I
just wanted to thank you for your
leadership. It's been quite the privilege
sitting next to you for the last couple of
years. As soon as you came in, you knew
this Board needed reform. You knew it
needed more transparency. And you have
certainly made that happen.
So I want to thank you. This is a
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small board with a callosal task. And I
think we've done our best in the last few
years. And it's been under your
leadership. So thank you very much.
COMMISSIONER BELL: Thank you. I
wanted to make it a little bit more than
just ministerial, and I think we've
accomplished that. And thank you everyone
for your service and thank you.
Good luck, everybody.
(Thereupon, the meeting was
adjourned).
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CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
I, Lorena Ramos, National Registered
Professional Reporter and Florida Professional
Reporter, do hereby certify that I was
authorized to and did TRANSCRIBE the foregoing
proceedings, and that the transcript, pages 1
through 40, is a true and correct TRANSCRIPT of
the TAPE RECORDED meeting, to the best of my
ability.
DATED this 29th day of November 2014, at
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
_____________________________
LORENA RAMOS, RPR & FPR
COURT REPORTER
Lorena Ramos