Bill would speed tax appeal hearings

Homeowners unhappy with reassessments would be assured quick response

Marylanders unhappy with how the state has valued their homes for tax purposes face a fast-approaching Feb. 13 deadline to file appeals.

Now some people say it’s the state’s turn to face some deadlines, too.

A bill up for debate in the General Assembly would require the state Department of Assessments and Taxation to hold a hearing for petitioners within 90 days.

The measure is aimed at reducing the stress — and extended timeline — of the state’s complicated, three-level process for property tax appeals, which can take months, or years, to be resolved.

“They require us to respond to their reassessments within a required period of time,” said Adam Borden, 41, a Guilford homeowner who is still trying to resolve an appeal he filed a year ago. “It seems only fair that they should have to do the same.”

The Department of Assessments and Taxation values a third of properties each year for tax purposes, sending notices at the end of December to some 700,000 property owners.

About 3 percent appeal within the required 45-day window — what the department estimated at nearly 22,000 people last year. Baltimore City typically has a higher rate of appeals than the rest of the state.

The bill, sponsored by Del. Mary Washington, would require the department to schedule hearings within 90 days of appeals at the first and second levels — to department supervisors and the property tax assessment appeals board — and inform people of a decision within 30 days.

The bill also would keep the value of the property unchanged if the department doesn’t respond in a timely fashion.

Washington, a Baltimore City Democrat who took on the issue after being approached by Borden, said she’s not worried the rule would burden the department, saying there could be opportunities to resolve more things remotely.

“We have a responsibility as a state to be responsive,” she said. “As taxpayers, we have a deadline to appeal, so we should expect a reasonable response.”

The Department of Assessments and Taxation has not taken a position on the bill, but its representatives plan to meet with Washington about it, said spokesman Corbett Webb. Last year, more than 90 percent of the appeals received by the department, the first recourse for homeowners, were resolved by July 1, he said.