Hernando County VAB petitioner withdraws 14 tax assessment cases after clerk reports missing evidence

Special Magistrate Robert Hicks presiding over the Hernando County Value Adjustment Board heard the withdrawal of 14 tax-assessment petitions on the record after the VAB clerk's office said it had not received evidence the petitioner was required to file.

The withdrawals came during a telephonic hearing after Heidi Prouse of the clerk's office told the hearing the clerk had received no evidence from the petitioner. "We have not received do you know where it was sent to and when? We have not received any evidence for the hearings to be provided to the magistrate," Prouse said on the record.

The absence of the evidence prompted discussion about the VAB's telephonic submission requirements and whether the hearing could proceed or be postponed. Prouse cited the telephonic policy that, as recorded in the hearing, requires "a hard copy must be mailed to the VAB clerk no later than 7 days prior to the hearing," and said the clerk would normally send a confirmation to the petitioner when materials arrive.

Ravi Sarolia, who identified himself as representing Onwell, said he had been assigned the matters the previous night and contacted his manager during the hearing. Sarolia told the board his team would submit written withdrawals by the end of the day. "They'll get the withdrawals in by end of the day, if that's okay," he said on the record.

Special Magistrate Hicks asked for and received verbal confirmation of withdrawal in order to conclude the hearing day; the clerk requested that the petitioner send a written withdrawal form to the clerk's distribution email and reply indicating submission by 5 p.m. The clerk also said the county would investigate how the materials were not received.

The petitions read into the record as withdrawn were presented as a group of 14 account numbers; as read into the record they were 25022, 25023, 25024, 25025, 25026, 25027, 25029, 25030, 25031, 25032, 25033, 25034, 25035 and 25036. The clerk said the matter will undergo an internal investigation to determine what went wrong with the evidence transmission.

Property appraisers Brandon Jimenez and Doug Mack were present on the call and indicated they had evidence on their side, but the clerk said that evidence from the property appraiser's office is distinct from evidence the petitioner must provide to the clerk when participating telephonically.

The hearing record reflects: (1) discussion of missing petitioner evidence and the telephonic submission requirement, (2) the petitioner's verbal withdrawal on the record with a direction to submit written withdrawal by 5 p.m., and (3) the clerk's statement that the county will investigate the transmission failure. No formal vote was required; the cases were removed from the day's docket by the petitioner's withdrawal.

A follow-up from the clerk's office was promised to determine why the petition materials were not delivered to the VAB clerk as required.