WHAT IS GOING ON?

ALERT: #126
DATE: March 5, 2007
TO: Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners
FROM: Village League Tax Revolt Committee

Dear Incline Village & Crystal Bay Property Owners,

Just in case you missed all of the latest shenanigans from the office of the Washoe County Treasurer, you can read the following text of an advertisement that was in yesterday’s (March 4th) Bonanza newspaper, page 5.

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An Open Letter From Your Washoe County Treasurer

Dear Incline/Crystal Bay Property Owners:

In response to your many inquiries, please let me explain my position at this point in time.

I have issued refunds for the 18 parcels that pertained to the Nevada Supreme Court's decision, issued December 28, 2006. All other valuation reduction matters are subject to current appeals.

May I advise that you make your 4th installment payments, timely, and in the amount as originally billed. The due date is Monday, March 5, 2007.

This 4th installment includes a portion of your Recreation Fee for IVGID. A delinquency may, or may not, effect your "pass" status.

Should there be the need to adjust or recalculate your bills following the appeal process, your refund will include appropriate interest.

The email being circulated alluding to this office holding a check from an Incline/Crystal Bay taxpayer was based upon the anticipation of some "direction" from the State Board of Equalization on February 21st. That date passed with only a setting of March 13,2007, as the date to hear the Assessor's appeal. That action, or lack thereof, has nullified the content of subject email. All tax payments are being processed and deposited.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in these trying and complex times.

Bill Berrum
Washoe County Treasurer.

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First, the Treasurer attempted to take the position that the email which we called to your attention in our last Alert was a fake!

Thanks to all of your phone calls and emails requesting an explanation, he finally had to admit that email was actually true and that the office had offered special treatment due to “extenuating circumstances” to one taxpayer, but refused to offer the same consideration to any of the other similarly situated property owners.

Washoe County Treasurer Bill Berrum has admitted that he has no authority in statute or other Nevada law that allows him to unilaterally withhold paying the property tax refunds that were granted to all of the 9000 Incline Village / Crystal Bay residential property owners by the Washoe County Board of Equalization (CBOE) in March 2006! The ruling by the CBOE, was ordered by the Supreme Court to be based on the reasoning of Judge Maddox’ decision, which was subsequently Affirmed by the Nevada Supreme Court last December 28, 2006.

WHEN WILL WE GET REFUNDS?

No effort has been made by the Washoe County Commissioners, the State Board of Equalization, the Nevada Tax Commission or the Washoe County Treasurer to refund or even credit the overpaid taxes that are owed to you. In fact, quite the opposite is true. All of you who actually spoke with someone at the office of the Treasurer were told in no uncertain terms that you MUST pay your fourth payment of the incorrect 2006-2007 taxes.

As we have stated before, WASHOE COUNTY WANTS YOUR MONEY, and will do almost anything to keep it. They continue to over assess our properties, and try to sooth our rage by pointing out that we are protected by the 3% Tax Cap.

Josh Wilson, the new Washoe County Assessor, is currently facing a Contempt of Court action for continuing to ignore the appraisal methods approved by the Tax Commission, despite the decisions of the Maddox and Supreme Courts, which ruled that the methods that had been conjured up by the assessor’s office were illegal and unconstitutional.

It is obvious that Washoe County and the Assessor are counting on the State Board of Equalization (SBOE) to overturn the CBOE decision granting us the roll-back of our property taxes to the 2002-2003 year and the refunds plus interest of the over charged taxes that we have been forced to pay.

The SBOE has no jurisdiction to even consider an appeal submitted by the former Washoe County Assessor, Bob McGowan, over a year ago. We have filed a Writ of Prohibition in the Carson City court of Judge Russell requesting a ruling on just this point.

WHY DOESN’T THE COUNTY JUST SETTLE UP?

The only answer that we can offer is that there are huge egos at stake as well as enormous arrogance on the part of the County officials, including the office of the District Attorney, Richard Gammick.

When this problem was first brought to their attention four and a half years ago, a correction and a settlement of overpaid taxes would have cost the County $55,000. Now, the refunds that are due, by the Order of the Court, to all 9000 of the IV/CB property owners are in the millions of dollars. Does this sound to you as if good business practices are being followed?

Due to the fact that interest is accruing on the unpaid refunds, the amount due from the County is growing exponentially. These are the same officials that brought us the Ballardini Ranch fiasco, which cost the taxpayers of Washoe County over $13 million dollars.

There is a hearing next Tuesday before the combined Boards of the Nevada Tax Commission and the SBOE. The Village League Board members and our attorneys will be in attendance to represent you. We will inform you as to the outcome, if there is anything to report, as soon as we possibly can. So often, these hearings are choreographed exercises in futility, the outcomes of which have been pre-ordained. Needless to say, the results lead to enormous frustration.

If you detect a note of anger in this Alert, you are RIGHT! The officials of Washoe County are thumbing their collective noses at the State of Nevada, the law, the courts and the rights of the property owners. They WILL be held accountable, and that’s a promise!