“Business-Like” Appeals Board Hears Complaints

On opening day of a new panel revamped to restore order to the tax appeals process, a cordial chair heard complaints about car taxes — including from one of the city’s biggest contractors, which claims it was overcharged by a quarter million dollars.

The request came in the form of 139 appeals from First Student, the bus company the city hired to deliver kids to school. First Student said the city’s assessments are too high: When it bought the buses a year and a half ago, it paid less than the assessed value the city billed them for this year.

The tax appeals board promised to consider the appeal, and even had First Student Britt Liotta laughing, despite the $250,000 in taxes his company is disputing. That was typical of the first meeting of an uber-friendly and process-oriented new tax appeals board, which met in City Hall’s Meeting Room Three on Thursday evening.

The meeting was led by new appeals board members Chris Mordecai, Jeffrey Granoff, and Kenneth Janke (pictured, left to right). The three were tapped to take the place of two members who resigned amidst a storm of controversy.

The Board of Assessment Appeals, which is charged with helping taxpayers who feel that they’ve been overtaxed by the city, has been a prime focus of taxpayer outrage in recent months, as demonstrated at a spirited series of meetings of the Board of Aldermen’s Tax Abatement Committee. The appeals board had been accused of failing to meet legal obligations like meeting in public and posting agendas. At the Tax Abatement Committee’s meetings further allegations — of nepotism and possible no-show work — arose.

After public outcry led to the resignation of appeals board members Jacqueline Harris and Michael Newton, the mayor appointed new members. Granoff, who was elected committee chair at the meeting, served on the board previously for several years.

Read stories about that unfolding scandal, and articles about related issues at the tax assessor’s office, here.

On Thursday, Granoff led applicants and his fellow board members through a very polite meeting, with none of the lack of due process that applicants have complained of after interacting with the appeals board.

Granoff explained the appeals process thoroughly at the top of the meeting, beginning with the board’s colonial origins. He paused at one point to explain the theory that increased demand for used cars amid a recession has made some car values rise this year. He also made sure to make small talk with most applicants, and reassure the ones who seemed nervous.

A former teacher, Granoff made sure to ask what schools applicants’ kids are going to. He apologized profusely for scheduling the meeting during a Jewish holiday. He apologized for making people wait to be heard, for misplacing an appeal, for the short notice of the meeting. And committee members thanked each applicant repeatedly for coming.

Applicants, some of whom were protesting tax bills that had doubled for no apparent reason, were left smiling and chuckling after their interactions with the board. Unlike some recent meetings of the Tax Abatement Committee, no tempers flared and no voices were raised.

Moments after her hearing by the appeals board, Patricia Kane wrote, ​“This new Board is a model of decorum and the atmosphere was friendly, informational and business like.” (See her full comment below this article.)

Liotta (at left in photo), of First Student, stepped up to testify at 5:49 p.m. ​“I’m here to appeal 139 school buses we bought last year,” he said. The city assessed them at $58,800 each, he said. That’s more than $2,000 more than First Student paid for them each back in February of 2009, he said. He said the buses should be worth about $38,000 each.

Granoff and his fellow board members handled Liotta’s appeals in the same way they handled the evenings 21 other applicants. They methodically took down the details and efficiently sent Liotta on his way.

They did tell him that First Student will have to file 139 individual appeals instead of one big one, and granted the company an extension to do so.

Liotta later said First Student pays some $8.5 million in motor vehicle taxes to the city. A successful appeal on the 139 buses — less than half of the company’s full fleet of 303 buses — would knock $250,000 off that sum, he said.

The board did not deliberate or vote on the First Student appeals. That will happen at the board’s next meeting, on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.

After the hearing, Granoff said he thought the meeting had gone very well. He said the board had heard more motor vehicle appeals than usual. He said it was maybe double what he used to see when he was on the board several years ago. He said he couldn’t say why that could be.

Granoff said the minutes of the meeting would be available within a week and that a special meeting would be set up for people who were unable to attend Thursday for religious reasons. Twenty-one applicants didn’t show to the meeting, including Alderman Greg Morehead.

After the meeting, Wooster Square Alderman Michael Smart, who has led the Tax Abatement Committee’s investigation of property assessment problems, said he was pleased to hear that the new appeals board seemed to be treating applicants properly. He said he would have been at the meeting if not for a ward committee meeting.

“I think it’s certainly a step in the right direction,” he said.

However, more work and investigation of the assessment and appeals processes need to happen, he said. The city should not face as many appeals as it does, he said. The assessor still needs to be removed, he said.

Read on for the Independent’s live blog of Thursday’s meeting:

Live Blog

4:59 p.m. We’re live from Meeting Room 3, on the second floor of City Hall, where a eight or nine taxpayers are waiting to appeal.

5:00 Granoff calls the meeting to order. First order of business: elect a chair.

Granoff: Inadvertently, this meeting was set up on a ​“Jewish holy day.” We’ll set up a meeting date for people that couldn’t attend because of that. ​“We’re very sorry that this occurred.”

“We look forward to working with everyone.” Hopefully everyone will find us to be transparent, accessible, and fair.

Janke nominates Granoff as chair. Unanimously elected for a one-year appointment as chair.

On to info about the BAA. Granoff: ​‘I’m very interested in history.” In colonial times, when people were given a tax by their property, citizens complained, but had no one to complain to. The colonial legislature passed a law that every town had to have a review board to hear such concerns. This has become known as the Board of Assessment Appeals. The decisions we make are binding on the town. The town has no recourse. But you can appeal to the courts. ​“It’s a pretty fair process.” Motor vehicles are heard in September. Real estate is heard in March. All meetings are open to the public. In April the board deliberates on appeals. That’s also open to the public. All meetings are announced in legal notices to the media and posted in the clerk’s office. ​“We’re here as a citizens advocacy board.”

5:06 Personal hearings. First up is a Barry Seagal from Hartford. He takes a seat. He’s appealing taxes on the 2008 Grand List.

Granoff: Raise your right hand. [swears in Seagal].

Seagal: I used to own a company called Edart truck leasing, we sold it in 2009. Our property tax responsibility was to Feb. 2009. We received a tax bill in June 2009. The city allowed us to pro-rate that bill for the 5 months we owned the vehicles. Then we found that the assessed value of our trucks was higher than state statute called for. Assessor’s office told us it was too late to correct. We researched further and found a statute that says assessor could fix ​“clerical” errors. Assessor’s office said it was a judgment error, not a clerical error. Then, we found that Ryder, to whom we’d sold the trucks, was also sent tax bills for the trucks for the other seven months of the year. Those bills had the trucks valued at the correct amount. We tried to talk to the assessor again. No luck. We had an attorney send a letter. Still no luck.

Seagal hands over some papers. He says: The papers show the bills we received and the assessed values. Other papers show the value of the vehicles according to a book of industry standards. Another page shows the bill sent to Ryder.

5:16 Granoff thanks Seagal.

Seagal: I have 4,000 sheets in here [points to a briefcase].

Granoff says he can leave a set with clerical staff. He introduces Sarah McIver (at left in photo), the clerk. He says he’s pleased she’s back on as staff (she worked for the board previously).

5:18 Next up: Charles Chappell and his wife, Elizabeth. They live on Orange Street in New Haven.

Chappell: I’m here today because of the assessment on my Honda Fit. City says it’s worth $9,207. I’ve owned it since 2006. It’s a high mileage car. 85,000 miles. An independent dealership assessment puts it at about $5,000. ​“That’s my primary concern.”

Granoff: If you bring the car around we can validate the mileage.

Chapell: I’ll drive it around. [He offers a picture of the odometer on his camera. Granoff says that won’t work.]

Granoff passes around a folder for board members and the Chappells to sign for evidence that they were all here and considered the appeal.

5:24 Next: Wendy Bianca. She lives on Cora Street.

Bianca: I have an 11 year old Jeep Cherokee with over 150,000 miles on it. The a/c is broken and would cost $1200 to replace. The NADA value is only $1,900, with a/c. The city assesses it at $4,340. ​“That’s a pretty huge difference.”

[She hands over files, signs a sheet, and she’s done.]

Granoff: We’ll send you a letter by the end of October. [The board will not be deciding appeals tonight.] ​“Sorry to make you wait.”

Bianca: ​“That’s all right. No problem.”

5:24 Next, Steve Culpepper, of 15 Court St.

Culpepper: We have a 2002 Audi Quattro with 120,000 miles on it and a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with over 125,000 miles. The city assessed them both a couple of thousand to high. They both have ​“body defects.” ​“They’re frankly worth thousands of dollars less.” The Audi has an antifreeze leak and needs a new windshield wiper system.

[All three board members are taking very detailed notes on all testimony.]

[McIver isn’t finding the records of the Audi appeal. Granoff says he can submit an appeal right now on it. He apologizes for it being misplaced.]

Granoff: A point of information about the value of cars going up. Because the economy is bad demand for used cars is up. Also the Cash for Clunkers took a lot of used cars of the market, ​“which has also pushed up the price.” Even the price of gas has dropped and people are starting to buy SUVs and larger vehicles. ​“It’s really interesting how the economy has affected all of us.”

Culpepper: ​“I can buy that as a theory.” But Kelly’s Blue Book doesn’t bear it out. There was no increase in my car values according to Kelly.

Granoff asks the Culpeppers to bring around their vehicles so they can check the mileage. He apologizes again for the lost Audi appeal.

5:24 Patricia Kane (pictured) of Dwight Street is up.

Kane: 2003 BMW wagon. 134,000 miles. My mechanic produced a ​“partial list” of $2300 in needed repairs. [She shows photos of vandalism to her hood, her broken rear view mirror, and headlights that need to be replaced.] ​“The assessment really shocked me.” It was $9,590. I checked it against a book. The car is right out front. ​“I’ve estimated it at $4,500.” [Kane has a soft New England accent. She says her ​“cah” couldn’t be sold for $9,590.] A little more notice of the next meeting would be good.

Granoff apologizes for any inconvenience and says more notice will be given in the future.

Mordecai leaves the room to check car mileages.

5:40 Next: Dana Rozanski (pictured), of Harrison Street, and her father.

Granoff tells her not to be nervous. ​“I think I’m more nervous than you are.”

Razanski: ​“I have a ​‘99 Subaru Impreza.” I graduated in December from Southern.

Granoff: Did you go to school in New Haven?

Rozanski: I went to Amity. The car was assessed at $2,750. I bought it for $3,400 six years ago. It’s got high mileage and dents. [She thinks the value is $1,000 to $1,200.] ​“My father’s worked in the car business for quite a while.”

Granoff: ​“Thank you very much. You did good. You did good.”

Granoff and Rozanski chat about earth sciences, her area of study. He says he’s a paleobotanist. He wants to know if a lot of women are going into the field. She says a few are.

5:45 Next is Michael C. Makres of Burr Street.

Makres: My pickup truck. ​“It’s really overvalued.” I also have a motorcycle and my wife’s car are right on the money. The pickup was assessed at about $20,000. The original window sticker was $19,000. It’s a Chevy Silverado WT from 2008. Books say it’s worth about $15,000.

Granoff: Connecticut uses NADA.

Makres: That has it at $15,200.

Granoff: ​“Thank you for coming.”

Makres: ​“Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.”

5:49 Britt Liotta is up. He works for First Student Bus Company. He says: I’m here to appeal 139 school buses we bought last year. They were assessed at $58,800 each. We bought them in Feb, 09 for $56,383 each. They should be worth $37,850 each.

Granoff: You’ll need to fill out an application for each vehicle.

Liotta: Tonight?

Granoff: By Monday. Drop them off at the assessor’s office.

Liotta: So we just need this done 139 times.

5:57 [Stepped out for a minute to talk to Liotta. Now there’s a youngish guy with a laptop now testifying. I think he’s appealing the taxes on his Jeep and a Subaru Outback wagon.] Mordecai steps out to take a look at the Subaru.

6:00 New appeal: Kenneth Romans and his wife, Diane, or 343 Eastern St., Bella Vista.

Kenneth: ​“I have a 1994 Honda Civic with 278,000 miles [wow!] on it. I brought you pictures of it.” [He hands over pictures.] ​“This duct tape is great.” What I’m disputing is, in 2008 I had my bill reduced to $84.42. I had the assessment reduced to $2,000. This year. I came down to see Alex and he said I couldn’t do anything without seeing the board.

Granoff: Why did he do it last year?

Kenneth: I don’t remember.

Thank you. Thank you.

6:06 Next. Ibrahim A. Ibrahim of Orange Street. 1999 Toyota Rav4. Assessed by the city at $5,100.

Ibrahim: The transmission is gone.

6:09 [The board is going through these quickly, but the number of people in the room is not decreasing significantly. More keep coming in as others leave.]

6:10 Next is Beatrice Washington, a soft-spoken woman wearing a denim jacket and brown skirt.

Washington: I have all my tax bills for my 1997 Honda CRV. [The board goes through five years of bills.] I’m a senior citizen on a fixed income and I noticed my bill was high.

Granoff: Have you applied for an elderly benefit?

Washington: No.

Granoff explains the benefit. Washington says it’s good to know about.

6:16 Alan Case is now up. He lives on Woodward Avenue. He has a 1991 ​“pop-up camper.”

Case: ​“In July, I sold this.” For $950. It weighs 1200 pounds. There is no title. Assessor said he needed a copy of the return plates and the new owner’s registration. I have copy of the bill of sale and plate return receipt. Assessor said he needs the title. ​“He’s asking me for a document that they don’t have,” and a motor vehicle under 3,000 pounds doesn’t require a title.

6:21 Next is a mom with two young kids. Granoff determines that they go to Worthington Hooker.

Their names are Dianna Zeilik and Joseph Lampo and Jason Lampo.

Zeilik says: I had an estimate of my 1998 Chevy Cavalier done. The car is worth $800. The city says it’s worth $2000. The city wants $102 in taxes. Last year it was $30. … My transmission is slipping. It needs front and rear brakes. Dent in the hood. Peeling paint. Scratches. Almost 100,000 miles. ​“I’m just hoping it doesn’t die.” I have to drive the kids to school.

Jason has a question: ​“Are we gonna be on the news?”

Janke: ​“Maybe. Smile for the camera!”

Granoff has the kids sign the file, just as he made sure to swear them in, to make it official. Janke chats with Jason about his Silly Bandz.

Mordecai runs out to look at the car. He’s been in and out all night checking out the cars.

6:28 Next up, Moses Boone.

Boone: ​“I have a 93 Toyota Camry. I bought it for $900.” ​“It’s been sidelined more than it’s been on the road.” Last year when I bought it, it was assessed at $2,000 and I paid $90 for the year. This year I get a shock: $97 for six months. ​“I have a problem paying double the taxes. … Cars don’t appreciate in value.” I have experience selling cars. The assessment went up from $900 to $2,210. ​“The only way that could happen is if someone dropped an ounce of gold in the tank.” The car has 153,000 miles on it.

6:31 Next up is Alisa Hayes of 1497 Boulevard.

Hayes: ​“I actually paid my taxes. Because I didn’t want to get the boot.” Assessor says my 2000 Buick LeSabre is worth $7,000. I paid $3,920.94 a little over a year ago for it. I think it’s worth $3,500. It has about 93,000 miles.

Granoff and Hayes chat about Troupe school, where her son is a student.

6:36 Steven Ogden of Mansfield Street takes a seat. 1999 Honda Accord. The value should by $3945, he says. ​“That’s the Blue Book for good condition.”

Ogden: There are a lot of scratches. It has 169,000 miles. The city says it’s worth $51,110.

Mordecai gets up to go out look at another car. ​“Should I wear my sneakers next time?” he says.

6:41 Tom Hejmowski and Kazimiera Hejmowska sit to testify. The live on Chester Street.

Hejmowski has a 2006 Chevy Colorado. It’s his father’s. Purchased in 2007. Has 38,000 miles on it. There was a tax increase of 28.9 percent, he says. It should be valued at $6600, he says.

Hejmowski: The assessment went up in one year by close to $2,000.

In 2008 it was $6,600. The new bill is $8,510.

Hejmowski: ​“Cars don’t go up in value like that.”

6:44 Ukamaka Ekekwa (?) sits. She says her 2000 Chevy Malibu was over assessed at $2,840. She says it should be $1100.

Ekekwa: 120,000 miles. ABS light has been on for years. Driver’s side window doesn’t work. ​“It’s really, really, really, really messed up outside.” I’ve had it for six years. I paid $3,400 for it.

[It’s thinned out quite a bit in here. There are only three people waiting to testify.]

6:49 A couple sits and is sworn in. Dominic Giordano (at right in photo) and Teresa Dillard (at left) of Spring Street have a 2002 Ford Explorer.

Giordano: Theresa is my fiancee. We have four kids. I bought the car for her three years ago for $9,000 cash. It had 90,000 miles. Now it has 174,000 miles. The tax bill is very, very high. I had someone appraise it at $3,500. The assessor said it was worth more, ​“like $7,200.” ​“We have excessive mileage on the car.” …What happens next?

Granoff: We’ll meet and deliberate at a public meeting and have a decision by the end of next month.

Granoff and Giordano chat about where his kids go to school and how Granoff taught at Clemente, where Giordano went. ​“I probably was your seventh grade science teacher,” Granoff says.

6:57Last one! Damali Hicks of Fairfield Street is up. She has a 2004 Mini Cooper that she feels has been over assessed.

Hicks: I have little dents and nicks in the car. It’s not perfect. [She presents pictures.]

Granoff: Chris [who’s just stepping back into the room] will go out to take a look.

Chris laughs.

Granoff to Hicks: We’re sorry to make you wait. Thank you.

7:02 That’s it for testimony!

Granoff: Since there are no other applicants, the last item on our agenda is our next meeting date. We’ll wait until Chris gets back.

Staff and Granoff sum up: 21 applicants were heard. Edart had 58 appeals to make, and First Student has 139. That adds up to 216. But some applicants had two vehicles so closer to 225.

Granoff chats with the press while the board waits for Mordecai to return. He speaks at some length about George Foote, the founder of the Sound School, whom he say would be a good subject for an article. ​“He has a brilliant mind.” Wonderful with kids. ​“Brilliant, brilliant person.”

7:09Mordecai is back. Janke jokes that he now has to run over to Romeo’s.

McIver says there were 21 no-shows — people who submitted appeals but did not appear this evening. She notes that it is a religious holiday. Granoff reads their names into the record. Greg Morehead (the alderman?) has two applications.

Setting a date for deliberation. Granoff proposes Tuesday, Oct. 19, to give the board adequate time to evaluate appeals that were heard. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. to accommodate people who have to work until 5 or 6 p.m.

7:14The meeting is adjourned. ​“Very very efficient,” says corp counsel staffer.