ALERT: #108
DATE: August 3, 2006
TO: Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners
FROM: Village League Tax Revolt Committee

Dear Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners,

We have received a number of inquiries regarding a request for the payment of $150.00 by Attorney Thomas J. Hall in a letter that many of you received, dated August 1, 2006. Additionally, he stated that his office is no longer affiliated with the Village League. The last statement is true.

Attorney Hall was engaged by approximately 300 members of the Village League to represent their appeals before the County Board of Equalization and, if necessary, the State Board of Equalization. The League timely filed all documentation necessary, on behalf of its members, for the State Board appeals by March 10, 2006.

Mr. Hall committed to a fixed fee of $5,000.00 for his services and has already received “Final Payment”. He must represent you at the State Board hearing, as he has already accepted payment for doing so. Neither you nor the League owes Attorney Hall anything further, and he carefully states in his letter that his request is for “assistance”.

Attached is a copy of my personal Authorization for Representation form, which is identical to the form that the League provided for your signatures. Notice that the Authorization includes, “…appearance and presentation before the Washoe County Board of Equalization, and/or before the State Board of Equalization…”

POSITION OF THE VILLAGE LEAGUE

Members of the Village League Board provided administrative support services and hundreds of hours of research, at no cost to Attorney Hall or to the members that he was representing in the cases being heard before the County Board. The collection of fees and documents for Mr. Hall was purely for his convenience. The Village League did not contract directly with Attorney Hall in the matter of the Board hearings; however, he was paid approximately $185,000.00 for various other tax matters.

The Village League board members unanimously voted to terminate our agreement with Attorney Thomas J. Hall last July. Dissatisfaction with the legal services provided by Mr. Hall was the primary reason for his termination.

In the last Paragraph of his letter he states, “…we will diligently pursue this matter on behalf of all of you…” If he refused to appear as your Authorized Agent; or did NOT pursue these cases diligently, in our opinion, he would be committing malpractice; especially as he has been fully paid IN ADVANCE for so doing.

If all of the 300+ recipients of his letter each sent him the $150.00 that he requests, he would have garnered an additional $45,000.00, for appearing for 30 minutes before the State Board, in addition to the staggering amount that he already has been paid by the Village League.

It is notable that his request for additional fees, does not indicate exactly what services will be covered in the legal work that lies ahead. If the Supreme Court ruling is issued before August 25, 2006 and is strongly in our favor, Attorney Hall’s representation before the State Board may be unnecessary. Will he be returning these requested funds?

Hopefully, this letter has answered some of your questions. If you plan to remit the requested $150.00, we suggest that you contact Mr. Hall and reach agreement as to which services he will be providing, and at what cost. Should you have further concerns, please feel free to email or phone us.

Sincerely,

Village League to Save Incline Assets Board Members:

• Maryanne Ingemanson, President
  
• Dale Akers, Historian
  
• Les Barta, Law Research
  
• John Carney, Analyst
  
• Wayne Fischer, Webmaster
  
• Ted Harris, Tax Revolt Committee Chairman
  
• Todd Lowe, Financial,
  
• Chuck Otto, Public Relations

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