O’Brien’s Office Targeted

If one aldermanic committee has its way, the tax assessor won’t be able to raise an assessment without a face-to-face meeting. He also won’t be the tax assessor anymore.

Culminating months of investigation and public hearings, the Tax Abatement Committee voted Monday night on ways to improve the tax assessor’s office and the tax appeals board. On the list of improvements: require personal meetings when property is re-assessed, and fire Bill O’Brien, the current assessor.

Those were two of 38 recommendations the committee considered on Monday night. Apart from deleting a few redundant items, the board voted to send all the recommendations on to the full Board of Aldermen for further action. Read the list here.

The reforms come in response to ongoing complaints of incompetence and misbehavior at the tax assessor’s office. Over the past several months, the once-sleepy Tax Abatement Committee has been holding a series of heated public hearings, at which taxpayers have complained of erroneous tax bills and mystifying, rude treatment by tax assessment staffers. Bill O’Brien, the city tax assessor, has been singled out for criticism, with several alderman calling for his termination.

As part of its investigation of the assessor’s office, the Tax Abatement Committee has also probed the Board of Assessment Appeals, which is charged with helping taxpayers who feel they’ve been overcharged. After aldermen discovered possible nepotism and no-show work on the appeals board, its two members resigned and were replaced by the mayor.

See here for complete background on the assessment and appeals controversies.

Last week, committee members unveiled the list of reforms. Removing O’Brien is at the top. Aldermen approved that measure first, after some strategizing about the best way to get the full board to support it. The Board of Aldermen can’t fire O’Brien itself, but it can urge the mayor to do so.

Alderman Michael Smart, chair of the committee, said the O’Brien’s termination was among the most significant of the items passed out of committee on Monday night.

Things have not improved in the assessor’s office, Smart said. If anything, they’ve gotten worse, he said. ​“It’s become more arrogant down there.”

With the economy as it is, the city is likely to see more and more complaints about the assessor’s office, Smart said. As their financial situations worsen, taxpayers will find that they have to argue over smaller and smaller assessment errors, Smart predicted.

Smart said another important reform on Monday was the requirement that all auto and property re-assessments include a physical inspection and a face-to-face meeting between the property owner and a staffer from the assessor’s office. This will give property owners a chance to present their case, Smart said.

The committee also voted to recommend a measure that would prevent the assessor’s office from billing for three years of back taxes when it discovers, for instance, a car that is garaged in New Haven but registered elsewhere.

Overall, the recommendations send a message, Smart said. ​“We’re going to stand with the taxpayers.”

Smart acknowledged that while Monday’s meeting marks the end of a committee process, it’s also the start of more discussion among lawmakers, as aldermen work to implement all the recommendations coming out of the Tax Abatement Committee. Some can be voted through simply as aldermanic orders, others will require changes to state law or to the city charter.

Smart said that aldermen are working on filing an ethics complaint that will start a formal investigation into wrongdoing by the appeals board with regard to the hiring of family members and business associates. ​“It has to be on the record,” Smart said. ​“People have to know we followed it right through.”

The Independent covered Monday’s meeting live from City Hall. Read on for a blow-by-blow account of the action.

Live Blog

6:34 p.m.: Five aldermen are here. Chairman Michael Smart is in the hallway doing an interview with NBC news. A new list of recommendations has been handed out. The new list has a total of 38 recommendations, broken up into categories according to what kind of action the committee is recommending them for. For instance, some require ordinance amendments, some would require changes to state statute, and some are simply changes to the rules of the committee.

6:37: Alderman Smart is reading the agenda. The only item is discussing and voting on the recommendations. Joining Smart are Aldermen Claudette Robinson-Thorpe, Darnell Goldson, Gerald Antunes, and Arlene DePino. The gallery is empty, except for a couple reporters and legislative staff.

Smart begins by thanking the committee for all its hard work. ​“Our whole goal here is to make this process run smoother … and to make taxpayers feel like they have a voice.”

Smart also has distributed a list of ​“key recommendations” : his comments on some of the important items.

The committee will take the items line by line. First up: Removal of Bill O’Brien. Aldermen don’t have power to do this on their own, but they can urge the mayor to fire him. This first item is among the list of resolutions, meaning items that the full Board of Aldermen could pass as resolutions. These are all things they can’t do unilaterally but can ask the city to do.

Smart: About 12 aldermen have signed onto a letter to have him removed. The goal is to have everyone sign on.

DePino: Maybe it would be more effective to frame it as a vote of no confidence. ​“Maybe you’d get more people to sign on to it.”

Smart: We’ve arrived at this because of continuous complaints over the last several meetings.

DePino: I agree with you. I just saw that we only have 12 people signed on.

Goldson: A no confidence letter would send the message fine.

Smart: A no confidence letter doesn’t do what we want to do.

Antunes: No confidence votes really haven’t meant much in the past. For example, the police union had a no confidence vote in the chief. It had no effect. We can’t fire O’Brien. We need to do something that everyone can agree on. … ​“I’m kind of in the middle. There’s positives on both sides.”

DePino: If we don’t get the votes, it dies on the floor and doesn’t get to the mayor.

Smart: ​“My position is I’m not wavering one bit. If it dies on the floor, it dies on the floor. … I think he needs to be removed.” In the private sector, he would be gone.

Goldson: I understand what you’re saying, but DePino’s arguments are very persuasive. We couldn’t get 16 votes on this issue. With this resolution, it won’t pass. ​“It looks like a victory for them.” As much as I want to say let’s just throw it out there, I also wants something transmitted to the mayor. The best route is the no confidence route, but ​“If you want to go for it, I’m with you.”

Thorpe: We don’t know if the other alders would sign on. I’m feeling like the no confidence doesn’t do anything.

Smart: We could always modify it on the floor if it looks like it might not pass.

Goldson moves the item. The vote is to ask staff to draft a resolution calling on the city to fire O’Brien. If it doesn’t get widespread aldermanic support, it can be changed to a vote of no confidence, Goldson says.

The item passes unanimously.

6:57: [Aldermen Charles Blango and Greg Dildine have arrived.]

Item 2: The appeals board should not be in the assessor’s office.

DePino: Jeffrey Granoff, the head of the appeals board said it’s for convenience. That’s where all the files are kept.

Goldson: I don’t know if moving them out of the office does anything to make the appeals board a more independent body. They would still have to go to the office to get files. The question is how do we ​“set up a good firewall” between the appeals board and the assessor’s office?

Antunes: Is the information computerized? Maybe they could access records via a computer terminal.

[Board President Alderman Carl Goldfield has arrived. Goldfield and Dildine are in the gallery; Blango has joined the committee.]

Smart: Perception is important.

Goldson moves the item.

Antunes and DePino vote against. Thorpe, Smart, Goldson, vote for. Blango passes. Smart says the committee will come back to the voting after Blango makes up his mind.

Blango: Is this going to cost more money to put them in another office? Where will they be meeting?

Goldson: I imagine the administration would put them in the comptroller’s office, in the Hall of Records.

Goldson withdraws his motion so that Blango can amend it. His amendment: The move should not cost the city anything. Voting is split as before. The amendment passes.

Back to the main motion. Voting split as before. Item passes.

7:06: Item 3: Post a sign of appeals board rules and procedures. Aldermen decide this should be under ​“orders” not ​“resolutions.”

Item 4: ​“Mediate all pending court cases to save tax payers, and the CIty, funds.”

Goldson: Is the city not doing this already?

Blango: If it is, then fine. If not, we can push for it.

Goldfield: We need to be careful about wording. Mediation means go get a professional mediator. I would check with corporation counsel, you may not need this. Who pays for the mediator? Trying to work things out between parties is a regular part of court cases. But getting a mediator is a whole other level. It’s a little unclear. … If corp counsel is in court and thinks he can win, why shouldn’t he litigate?

Antunes: At what cost does the win come? A win might not balance the books.

Goldfield: Maybe we need to look and see if our litigation strategy is making or losing us money. … That could determine how we should proceed with this item.

Goldson: I thought this we pre-pending court cases. The issue was assessment appeals that are less than $200, while the court fees might have been $250. I thought we were trying to help those folks to resolve those problems before going to court. So are we talking about appeals where people are considering filing in court, but have not yet?

Smart: It’s for people who have already filed in court.

Staff: This came up when the Victor Bolden, corporation counsel, said of those pre-court, small cases, that the people involved should call him.

The committee tables the item pending further information.

7:25: That’s it for resolutions. The committee now takes up six proposed ​“orders.” These are things that the Board of Aldermen can simply vote to do, things that are within its power to do directly.

They are:
1. Create a written standard on how property and autos will be assessed.
2. Leave a notice/report at all on site inspections.
3. Provide a written explanation for all tax fund requests.
4. Post a sign of BAA rules and process.
5. Written periodic updates to the Tax Abatemen Committeee of Board of Assessment Appeals and denials in each aldermanic ward.
6. Inserts containing information for seniors concerning tax breaks (Senior Freeze/State Tax Breaks) to be sent with the January tax bills.

Aldermen discuss the sending out of information to taxpayers, to make sure people know how and when to appeal.

Goldson moves to amend Item 4 to include appeals board rules and process information with tax bills.

Goldfield: But by the time you get a bill in July, your assessment has already been done and it’s too late to appeal that year’s bill. The only way to do this would be to send out a completely different mailing in October, when the grand list is made, that would notify taxpayers of the new assessment and let them know how to appeal it.

Goldson: I think the president has a good point. … I would change my amendment to have a mailing go out when the grand list is made.

Goldfield: What is that going to cost?

Goldson: I don’t think it’s prohibitive.

Goldson’s amendment passes unanimously.

Goldson: I have a question about Item 1. What do we do with this standard when we have it? Will it go with all assessments, or be in a manual somewhere?

Smart: The latter.

“Autos” is removed from Item one, since their assessment is covered by state statute.

Antunes: On number five, can we require the appeals board chairman to come here and report to us?

Goldson: What we want is public information. The administration should simply provide it for us.

Goldfield: Maybe we could get WikiLeaks to help us.

Voting on Items 1 through 6. All pass unanimously.

7:46: Now, two proposed ordinance amendments:

1. Seniors late applying for tax freeze will be given relief for one year.
2. Amend the senior tax freeze ordinance to include an appeal process for not filing on time.

Goldson: What do we mean by ​“relief for one year”?

Staff: It’s if they forget to reapply. It’s for people who have already had it. Not for new applications. … These items will take a long time to get through. They’ll have to come back for committee work, since they’re ordinance amendments. … They’ll be combined into one ordinance amendment request.

The committee passes the items unanimously.

7:55: Now, state statute changes. These are items aldermen can encourage the state legislature to act on. They will take the form of resolutions urging the state to make certain changes.

1. A grace period for non-profit document issues.
2. Grace period for lost items.
3. Add an aldermanic representative to the appeals board.
4. One appeals board member should be a lawyer.
5. Extend the appeals board hearing meeting beyond July and January tax notices.
6. Change the requirement that tax payments be applied to oldest bills first, even when they are contested.

Goldson: Why do we need a representative on the appeals board?

Smart: Oversight.

Goldson: I don’t know if it’s a good idea. … And why do we want a lawyer on there?

Smart: A lawyer with real estate experience would know the rules and we wouldn’t need to always ask corp counsel for legal opinions.

Goldfield: I think it’s a bad idea to add an alderman. Those people are subject to political pressure. What if their constituent appeals? The whole idea of this is to get politics out of this. … I don’t think it adds anything and opens up to possible problems, with favoritism.

Antunes: Maybe instead of adding aldermanic representative, we should just increase the number of members to no less than five.

Blango moves to strike Item 3.

Antunes: I wanted to amend Item 3 so it says add additional people to the board.

Goldson: If we can’t fill three slots, how are we going to find more people to serve? … I would want to have someone who was a normal taxpayer, not a lawyer or real estate agent.

Staff: If an appeal goes to court, a layperson’s decision could be torn up because he or she would have no expertise. [Currently appeals board members have to have realty experience.]

Antunes: I want to amend Item 3 to take out ​“aldermanic position” and add ​“two members.”

Blango: ​“Can somebody explain this to me like a 6‑year-old?” Why can’t we simply strike on amend and amend the other?

Maybe it’s just that simple. Committee decides to strike Item 3 and amend 4 to say add two members, one of whom is a lawyer. Item 4 passes.

Committee votes now on Items 1, 2, 5, and 6. All pass unanimously.

8:17: On to ​“committee of the whole” items. There are 19 of these items, which will come before a the whole Board of Aldermen to discuss.

Smart reads the first five items.

1. Assessors should reside in New Haven, be a registered voter, and pay all car taxes here.
2. Readjust all ​‘09 assessments to ​‘08 levels.
3. No re-assessments should take place without physical inspection and a face-to-face meeting.
4. Add a process for special circumstances.
5. Provide a written explanation for all tax refund requests.

Blango: On item one, I have a house in Florida, and pay some taxes there. What are the ramifications of this item?

Goldson: ​“Alderman Blango just mucked this all up for me.” We’ve been criticizing the assessor for having cars out of town. But that’s become difficult when we have aldermen who own property in other cities and states. ​“It just makes it real uncomfortable.”

Goldfield: This is what makes defining residency so difficult. ​“Does he have a library card in Florida? Does he belong to a country club in Florida?”

Goldson: Item 1 should go to the charter review commission, not the committee of the whole.

Goldfield: You should go through and decide which of these should go to the committee of the whole. Nineteen items is a lot for the entire board to discuss.

The committee votes to send Item 2 to the Tax Abatement Committee and Item 1 to the charter review committee.

Smart: Item 3 has been an issue and it should be looked at by the committee of the whole.

Goldson: Why shouldn’t this just be a resolution from the Tax Abatement Committee?

Goldfield: But what’s the cost? How many re-assessments are there each year? This should be heard publicly.

The committee agrees. Goldson moves it as a communication to the Board of Aldermen, meaning that the president will then refer it to a committee for hearing, probably the Tax Abatement Committee. Unanimous approval.

Goldson: What does Item 4 mean? Special circumstances?

Smart: Taxpayers sometimes don’t get paperwork mailed to them…

Goldson moves Item 4. It passes unanimously to the committee of the whole.

Goldson moves Item 5 as a communication. Passes unanimously.

8:40: Now, Items 6 through 10.

6. Appeals board members must be approved by aldermen.
7. Appeals board members should sign affidavits that they are not related to current members and will not hire relatives, friends, or business partners.
8. Articulate a clear process for taxpayers to file ethics complaints against tax officials.
9. Reconsider the process of instituting foreclosure procedures for defaulting on half a year’s taxes without prior notice to the taxpayer.
10. Modify Tax Abatement Committee rules for autos and special circumstance.

Goldson: Item 6 needs to go to the state. So moved. All approve.

DePino moves Item 7 as a communication.

Goldson: Don’t we have a disclosure form that includes this information?

Smart: The form says that if your status changes you need to change your form. Maybe it’s just not being enforced. We had all the stuff to guard against this stuff on the appeals board. ​“We just didn’t have anybody guarding the hen house.” This should be a resolution that the administration enforce what’s already on the books. So moved. Passes unanimously.

Goldson: How do we do Item 8? What are we trying to do here? I’m uncomfortable with this.

The committee votes to send it as a communication to the full board, so that it will come back to the Tax Abatement Committee for further discussion. The same goes for Item 9.

The committee votes to send Item 10 to the committee of the whole.

8:51: Items 11 through 15. Item 13 is deleted as a repeat.

11. Zero tolerance for rude and disrespectful treatment for taxpayers. Se up a hotline.

Smart: This should be a constant reminder. I don’t know if it’s a training issue.

Goldson: This sounds like two different things. The first part, zero tolerance, should be a resolution we send to the mayor, that he remind all staff that we have no tolerance for rude and disrespectful behavior. [So moved. Passes unanimously.] The second part, setting up a hotline, is this for slights by the administration?

Antunes: Any department.

Goldson: Let’s make this a communication and have it sent to a committee. [So moved. Passes unanimously.]

Item 12: Set up an oversite committee.

DePino: Isn’t that what we’re doing. [Item is struck.]

Item 14: BOA to have its own lawyer

The committee votes to move Item 14 to the committee of the whole.

Item 15: Clarify/define subpoena process.

Committee votes to move that as a communication.

8:59: Item 16: All increases in seniors on tax freeze should be moved back to their former levels.

Goldson: I already submitted this. I think it’s in the Finance Committee.

Committee votes to support the measure.

Item 17: Car and personal property tax inquiries shall only apply to the current tax year. Investigations shall be limited tot he current tax year.

Goldson: I think this should be folded into the rules on autos and special circumstances, Item 10. [So moved. Passes unanimously.]

Item 18: Clarify what the term ​“residency” in the City means.

Passes unanimously.

Item 19: Establish a method so that a tax payer does not become liable for City errors of their assessments.

Goldfield: Why wouldn’t the current system capture that?

Goldson: I move we put this in as a communication so it can go to a committee for more discussion.

9:05: Last group of recommendations: Tax Abatement Committee rules. These need no further approval once the committee votes on them.

1. Tax payer sign off checklist for abatement hearing disclosures.
2. Have a representative from Elderly Services attend all committee meetings.
3. Involve Elderly Services in process as soon as possible.

All pass unanimously.

Goldson: Very good work, Mr. Chairman. Very good work.

Meeting adjourned.