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Tax Outcry Leads To Mayoral Promises
by Paul Bass | Jul 26, 2010 4:20 pm
(11) Comments | Commenting has expired | E-mail the Author
Posted to: City Hall
New Haven’s tax office will visit more small businesses and putative not-for-profits before raising their tax assessments, and taxpayers who feel unfairly charged will have a more professional appeals board to go to, Mayor John DeStefano promised Monday afternoon.
DeStefano made those and other promises at a City Hall press conference held hours before another scheduled aldermanic hearing over taxpayer complaints this season about allegedly incompetent, arrogant, dishonest, and rude treatment. (Visit the Independent after 6:30 p.m. for Thomas MacMillan’s live blog of that hearing.)
The mayor ordered top tax officials to investigate complaints made at public hearings and in a series of newspaper articles, ranging from arbitrarily inflated $5,000 assessments of artist studios and lost paperwork in the assessors office, from botched seniors’ tax bills and rising assessments on on old used cars to a complete collapse of any transparent or informed conduct by the Board of Assessment Appeals.
Twelve aldermen have in response called for the head of Assessor Bill O’Brien.
DeStefano reported back at Monday’s press conference on each category of complaint. In some cases the city screwed up and will do better, he said; in others, it needs to get better information out about how it didn’t screw up.
The mayor offered the fewest specifics, but the clearest sense of the “need to do better,” in discussing the conduct of the Board of Assessment Appeals, where citizens theoretically can turn for redress for alleged tax mistakes. According to reporting by the Advocate’s Betsy Yagla, only one of the board’s three members attends meetings, and that person displays little if any knowledge of applicable laws; few if any public meetings take place; few if any public notes are kept of reasons for decisions; and appeals of patently obvious mistakes (like fining Bru Cafe for failing to submit paper work required of not-for-profit businesses—when it’s a for-profit coffee shop) are summarily denied without explanation.
On Monday DeStefano promised to appoint new members to the board. He also promised to “support” the board with staff help from the controller’s office. He promised to give the board members “proper training.” And he took personal responsibility, as the person who appoints the board, for not staying more on top of the situation.
He said the tax office made two kinds of mistakes in sending out bills to 398 homeowners over 70 who qualify for a tax freeze program (by earning less than $53,000 and living in their homes for at least 10 years). He said 374 of them were accidentally underbilled last year; that’s why they were surprised by higher bills this year. The other 24 were incorrectly charged too much this year because of an error that’s since been rectified. The city will audit the tax credit program annually, he said. And it has scheduled three community meetings to explain it better to seniors: at the King Robinson School on Aug. 10 (primary election day) at 2 p.m.; at Edgewood School on Aug. 11 at 11 a.m.; and at Nathan Hale School Aug. 12 at 2 p.m.
As for all those small businesses, including artists, that received blanket $5,000 assessments: Half of them failed to file forms declaring how much property they own, DeStefano said. They’re supposed to; otherwise the city assigns a value. In all cases, though, the city should be making more in-person inspections of personal property rather than relying so much of broad-brush industry standard estimates, DeStefano acknowledged. So it will make more inspections. In the meantime, it will visit the businesses of people who complained about this year’s bill and suspend their bills in the meantime.
The city will also do similar field reviews of 13 businesses which have appealed losing their tax-exempt status.
In response to complaints of rudeness by assessor and tax collector office staffs, the city will add audio to its in-office video recording and start recording phone calls from the public, DeStefano said. And the city will launch a hotline for customer complaints—with “guaranteed timely human response.”
It’s true that people with used cars saw their taxes go up this year, the mayor reported—and there’s nothing the city can do about that: State government requires cities to use the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) guide in assessing cars’ value. And used cars have gone up in value because fewer people are buying new cars, DeStefano said.
DeStefano signaled little inclination to heed calls to oust Assessor O’Brien. Two of the cases involving confirmed problems—the assessment appeals board and the senior tax errors—have nothing to do with O’Brien, he said; in fact, O’Brien discovered the senior tax errors, which occurred before he assumed the office. He said he and O’Brien came up with the audio monitoring and field audit solutions after discussing the rudeness and arbitrary-assessment and tax-exemption complaints.
Instead, DeStefano put the complaints in the context of what he called a national trend toward tax “tension” as the “we reconcile the things we want with the things we’re willing to pay for” amid the worst recession since the Great Depression. He appealed for people to “have disagreements without being disagreeable” at a time when groups like the Tea Party have turned up and personalized anti-government rhetoric. He expects to hear ongoing invective about “Obama Socialism” and “DeStefano tax hikes,” the mayor said. He said he listened to the complaints New Haveners had about the city’s tax system, and found plenty of room for improvement.
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Comments
posted by: streever on July 26, 2010 4:47pm
I agree with the Mayor’s proposed fixes for the most part, and think it’s good his office is finally stepping up. With that said, I strongly disagree with him that this is just “tax tension” or tea party nonsense.
The people who were arbitrarily and unfairly assessed at 5k despite all evidence to the contrary aren’t just crazy tea party members. They are normal citizens who were unfairly assessed.
If O’Brien is able to perform his duties in a professional and non-arbitrary way AND the City can pay back those who were ripped off, then by all means he should stay here. However, if he is going to continue behaving the way he’s been alleged to, then he should face the same consequence he faced in Bridgeport and be dismissed.
posted by: pat on July 26, 2010 5:31pm
Why does it take a self-generated crisis for a system to be established that might be more user friendly?
Considering that a lot of the upset could have been anticipated, why didn’t the Tax Assessor’s Office set up systems to deal with the challenges?
People are understandably frustrated and angry watching the national wealth spent on unnecessary wars we can’t win, including the bogus war on drugs, while being simultaneously hard hit at home with rising costs and frozen or vanishing incomes.
Alderman Mike Smart understands that sometimes it feels like no one in charge is listening.
Let’s see if the Mayor will listen to the suggestions made at tonight’s hearing.
posted by: Threefifths on July 26, 2010 6:24pm
On Monday DeStefano promised to appoint new members to the board.
Again another three card monte.The board will be load with these kind of members.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePMYM4av6Q&feature=player_embedded
posted by: Doyens on July 26, 2010 6:26pm
After all these years in office, and years of abuse prior to now as documented in the city’s own commissioned report and the work history of O’Brien/Palmer, Mayor DeStefano finally decides to do something about it. While I’m glad a partial fix is coming, it doesn’t include any fix in the captain of the tax assessor’s boat. Incompetence is to be protected it seems, corruption given equal protection, and all the players at the center of the storm get to keep their jobs. Why? And why is it Johnny Come Lately Again?
As for taxpayer tension, once again the mayor shows a stunning and continuing separation from reality and the truth. When have we ever wanted to be ripped off? Dissed? Have our due process denied? When is it ok to appoint people to the appeals board who don’t have a clue about process and the law? Never. And no, this is not tension about what WE want - it’s about what the mayor wants which is to wring every nickle out of every family he can, fair or not, in order to fuel a city government that is too big and too expensive to sustain in the near or long term.
Sidenote: Where are the rest of the alders’signatures on this letter? Do they not care? Forget the budget, do they not find this repulsive?
posted by: hale bopp on July 26, 2010 9:33pm
Didjya ever notice that you never see bill O’Brien and Marshall Applewhite (AKA “Do”) in the room at the same time?
posted by: first observer on July 27, 2010 1:15am
“And used cars have gone up in value because fewer people are buying used cars, DeStefano said.”
This statement cries out for more explanation, if that is even possible, either from the mayor or from Paul Bass, who reports it. Ordinarily, when the demand for something goes down, the price goes down, not up.
The mayor “appealed for people to ‘have disagreements without being disagreeable.’”
Instead of blaming the public, this advice might better be directed to Assessor O’Brien, who, according to testimony at last night’s meeting of the Board of Aldermen’s Tax Abatement Committee, as reported by Thomas MacMillan, talks to people with a smirk on his face; tells people no explanation is necessary, they just owe the money billed; makes tax resolution deals with people and then refuses to honor them; and repeatedly hangs up on people who call him.
posted by: jay on July 27, 2010 12:40pm
The mayor will appoint or place people in positions that are his puppets…
posted by: frank b. coy on July 27, 2010 1:06pm
the simple definition of fiduciary is ” trust”, the simple definition of “conspire” to to agree with others to do or more importantly not to do something. people who are or hold fiducuary responsibilities should not conspire to withold important information from their constituets.Why has the “inappropriate” conduct of between three or four employees of the assessor’s office at a well known strip club not been made known to the print media nor the public.Instead, Mr.’ O’Brien and mr. Pietrosimone have agreed to make these inapprropriate activities “go away”. Alderman Smart MUST ASK WHY? if these people think they can act with impunity without probity and without fiduciary , then democracy is all but lost! LISTEN TO THE WWHISTLE OF THE ‘CHATANOOGA CHOO- CHOO BOYS AND GIRLS
posted by: MM on July 28, 2010 7:34am
‘The Mayor tells us to have disagreements without being disagreeable.’
It would have been useful to have a link after that statement to his performance on the steps of City Hall when he disagreed with UI.
posted by: FireO'Brien on July 29, 2010 12:27am
It’s not that tax bills went up minimally on “old used cars”.
[The] tax assessor declared that my twenty month old car was somehow worth more than it was at eight minths old.
File it under arrogance of power, but if O’Brien doesn’t go, the buck will stop with the Mayor. I won’t vote for him ever again if this crap stands.
What incredible nerve. My car is worth $4,000 less, and O’Brien magically assesses it for 5% more?
posted by: terrapin on August 25, 2010 8:09am
Car taxes are supposed to be based on the blue book value, there really isn’t supposed to be any assessing involved. If the assessor is tacking something on top of the blue book value, that’s one thing, but are used car blue book values increasing? (I don’t know if that is what’s going on, although it could be that in a poor economy there’s more demand for and increased value in used cars as compared with new cars.)