Board of Review Procedural Rules

(Adopted 5-2-2022)

  1. Notices of Board meetings will be posted in a prominent place at the County Court House.
  2. Protests shall not be considered unless filed in writing during the time prescribed by law. (April 2 through May 2)
  3. Faxed, emailed, or mailed petitions will be accepted by the Board of Review if they are received by midnight of May 2nd and contain an original signature. A faxed or scanned document are two examples of electronic documents displaying an original signature. If a postmark date is not present on the mailed article, then the date of receipt of protest will be considered the date of mailing.
  4. Protests must be confined to one of more of the five grounds specified in Chapter 441.37, Code of Iowa, as shown on the official protest form.
  5. The protest form states: An oral hearing is requested. Yes or No must be selected. Any answer other than yes will be interpreted as a no.
  6. Oral hearings will be limited to ten minutes per petitioner unless the board grants an extension.
  7. Appointments for oral hearings will be made by the Assessor’s Office. Once a petition has been submitted, a conference call date and time will be established. The petitioner will be notified. The Board of Review will initiate the call at the time scheduled.
  8. The Assessor and/or Assessor’s Office Personnel shall be required to attend all hearings to confirm values, circumstances, condition and statements.
  9. Board of Review members are not permitted to discuss adjustment amounts or petitions outside a regular board session.
  10. Comparisons of taxes for the current or prior years are not acceptable.
  11. No supply of petition forms shall be given to any group or organization for distribution to their members.
  12. All decisions will be made at a future time established by the Board. Iowa Code Chapter 21 allows Petitioner to observe deliberation if so desired.
  13. Official notice of all board decisions will be mailed to each petitioner after all decisions have been made.
  14. The Assessor’s Office will send a letter of notification to all petitioners that file prior to the dates authorized by Iowa Code Section 441.37.
  15. All meetings of the Board of Review are subject to Iowa Code Chapter 21 Open Meetings Law.
  16. Each petitioner giving testimony shall be required to take an oath given by the chairperson of the Board of Review, affirming or swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Posted: May 2, 2022 in 2022 Assessors Educational Resources

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