RECOMMENDED BOE HEARING PROCEDURES

A. Opening the session.

1. The presiding officer calls to order, reads opening statement.

2. The clerk calls the roll.

3. The presiding officer calls each appeal in the order listed on the agenda unless another order would be more appropriate.

B. The hearing.

1. The Clerk administers the oath to the assessor and all the appraisers at the first appeal, and thereafter to each appellant before their appeal is heard.

2. The presiding officer calls the appellant. If the appellant is not present, the Board shall consider any evidence presented by the parties, including any oral presentation made by the assessor, and reach a decision. In the alternative, the Board may postpone the hearing at its discretion.

3. If the appellant is present, the presiding officer shall read a summary of the assessment data for the appeal. The presiding officer should also remind the parties that they each have 30 minutes to present their case and ask at this time if either party wishes more time for presentation and why more time is needed.

(This should be done before the appeal begins because each party should receive the same amount of time if the request is granted to one. And they should know if they will have the extra time before they begin. Requests for extension made later than this point should only be granted if there is no objection by the opposing party.)

4. If a request is made for more time, the requesting party bears the burden of establishing why the extra time should be granted. The requesting party must prove that the case is so "complex" that more time is needed. I believe the opposing party should be given a chance to support or argue against the request.

("Complex" is not defined in the Ordinance. Consequently, the definition should be the same as that found in a dictionary. I believe the question you should ask yourselves is: would a reasonable person believe that this case is so complex that it will require more than 30 minutes per side? If not, you should deny the request. If, on the other hand, you decide an extension is reasonable, you should next ask how much extra time is reasonable because the amount requested may be too much or too little based on the "complexity" of the case. Reminder: there is no prohibition I can find against allowing "as much time as is needed" as an alternative to setting a specific time limit.)

5. The appellant then presents his or her case. Before allowing him or her to begin, the presiding officer should ask if the appellant wishes to reserve some time for rebuttal after the assessor or appraiser presents their case. They can either specify a specific amount of time or simply request that they be given any time they do not use.

Also, the presiding officer should warn the appellant that no cross-examination will be permitted during either opening presentation. [i]If they do not reserve some time (or leave some time if they choose that approach) for rebuttal, they will not have an opportunity to question (cross examine) any witnesses the assessor may call in his main case. Make sure the appellant affirmatively acknowledges that he or she understands what they are giving up by not reserving rebuttal time.

Finally, the presiding officer shall inform the parties that any witness who testifies during an initial presentation shall remain available in the room to testify for either side during rebuttal, unless excused by the board with concurrence of both parties.

At the conclusion of the appellant's case, the board members may question the appellant or any witnesses called by the appellant upon recognition by the presiding officer. These questions and answers are not charged against the time allowed the appellant to present his or her case.

(Board members should make notes during the hearing of any questions that come to mind and then ask them after the main presentation is concluded.)

6. The Assessor or appraiser then makes his or her presentation. Before allowing him or her to begin, the presiding officer should ask if the assessor wishes to reserve some time for rebuttal after the appellant presents his or her case.

At the conclusion of the assessor's case, the board members may question the assessor or any witnesses called by the assessor upon recognition by the presiding officer. These questions and answers are not charged against the time allowed the assessor to present his case.

(Board members should make notes during the hearing of any questions that come to mind and then ask them after the main presentation is concluded.)

Potential presentation issues:

a. Submitting evidence during the presentation. Based on the procedures established at the April 25, 1995 BOE hearings, new tangible evidence should not be admitted unless unopposed by the other party. Other exceptions, if any, are being developed. For instance, for slides, etc, the parties need merely state that they will be presenting such in their submission in order to be able to present such demonstrations at the hearing. Nonetheless, the slides, etc. should not be new evidence.

NOTE: Any opposition to "new evidence" should be raised before it is discussed by either side. This will allow the presiding officer to make a ruling on the evidence.

b. Calling witnesses during the presentations.

The parties are entitled to call witnesses during their main presentations for direct examination and during rebuttal for cross examination. Questions must be related to the issues in dispute. The parties cannot call each others witnesses for direct examination unless the other party consents. However, once a party calls a witness, the other party can call them during their rebuttal for purposes of cross examination. New witnesses can be called by either party during their respective rebuttal phases but only for the purpose of rebutting something presented by the other party during their direct. A new line of argument cannot be developed or pursued at this stage. Witnesses should be reminded to remain in the hearing chambers following their testimony should they be called in rebuttal.

c. Rebuttal by the assessor during his main case presentation.

The assessor will be in the unique position of being able to begin rebuttal of the appellant's case during his main case because of timing. This is proper as that would be the case if he were at trial. This does not authorize the assessor to call appellant's witnesses as rebuttal witnesses at this point.

7. Rebuttal presentation by appellant if the appellant has reserved time to do this. This includes his or her cross examination of the witnesses called by the assessor or appraiser during their main case presentation. New witnesses should not be allowed. Questions in rebuttal must be limited to issues raised during the initial presentation.

(Allowing new witnesses for one would require allowing new witnesses for the other because each might assert that they need new witnesses to rebut the other's new witness. This cycle could go on ad infinitum.)

8. Rebuttal presentation by the assessor or appraiser if they have reserved time to do this. This includes his or her cross examination of the witnesses called by the appellant during the appellant's main case presentation or rebuttal presentation. Questions in rebuttal must be limited to issues raised during the initial presentation.

[(For the sake of clarity, I recommend all cross examination should be limited to the rebuttal stage of each party's presentation. The assessor should suffer no prejudice from having to wait a half hour or so to call that witness.]

9. The hearing is then closed by the presiding officer.

C. Board decision.

1. After the hearing is closed, the Board deliberates.

•The appellant bears the burden of proof.

•The BOE may raise or lower the assessed value.

•Comments should reflect Board neutrality.

2. Board action is by a vote of the majority of the members present upon one of the following motions (only one motion on the floor at a time):

•Motion to uphold the assessor's valuation.

•Motion to reduce the assessment.

•Motion to increase the assessment.

•Motion to defer a decision.

(Do not forget to give the reason for your motion.)

D. Adjournment.

1. The Board president either continues that day's scheduled hearings until the next scheduled day of hearings or, if all scheduled hearings have been concluded, adjourns the session.