Okeechobee County board denies two tax-appeal petitions; one withdrawn

Okeechobee County’s Value Adjustment Board on an otherwise brief agenda entered final decisions to deny two property-tax petitions and recorded the withdrawal of a third petition.

The board voted unanimously to deny two related petitions known in the file as the Area 51 petitions and later denied a separate petition submitted by Walmart; Cattle Ranch Holdings told the board it had withdrawn its petition before the hearing, county staff said.

The actions affect pending valuation appeals on the county tax roll ahead of the county’s certification deadline. Aaron Thawitzer, the county attorney, told the board that the county must certify the roll by June 1 and that rescheduling hearings would make timely certification “impossible.” Thawitzer recommended denying a reschedule request for the Area 51 petitions because the board needed to meet the certification timeline and because petitioners had not provided evidence in time for the hearing.

Mickey Bandy, Okeechobee County property appraiser, told the board that Cattle Ranch Holdings formally withdrew its petition and that Walmart had provided “no information, no evidence” at the hearing and had been part of a Department of Revenue audit this year. “When something's part of an audit, you can't move a value a nickel,” Bandy said, explaining why the county treated Walmart’s submission as insufficient to change a valuation.

Board members discussed scheduling detail and public-notice timing before taking action. Thawitzer noted an outstanding question over whether the public notice listed a single start time or a window (for example, “10 or 10:30”), and advised the board that it should respect whatever time the notice actually specified when deciding whether to wait for petitioners who were not present.

Following the attorney’s recommendation, a motion to enter final decisions denying the two Area 51 petitions passed unanimously. The board then voted unanimously to deny the Walmart petition after staff confirmed no timely evidence had been submitted. The board made no formal decision on Cattle Ranch Holdings because the petitioner withdrew that appeal.

The board concluded its business and adjourned.

Votes at a glance - Area 51 petitions (agenda items O2 and O3): motion to deny petition entered as final decision; outcome carried unanimously. Petitioners had not submitted evidence and a court summary judgment in the related case is pending. - Walmart petition: motion to deny petition entered as final decision; outcome carried unanimously. County staff said Walmart provided no evidence and was part of a Department of Revenue audit this year.

(The transcript records that Cattle Ranch Holdings withdrew its petition before the hearing; no vote was required.)