Duval County value-adjustment board hears homeowner petition, defers one case and dismisses 18 unpaid petitions

The Duval County Value Adjustment Board on April 10, 2025 heard public comment from a Jacksonville homeowner contesting his property valuation, voted to defer one appraisal recommendation from the property appraiser's office, approved several attorney and special magistrate recommendations and dismissed 18 petitions for failure to make required partial tax payments under Florida Statute 194.014.

Rich Mazurek, a Jacksonville homeowner and the petitioner in case 2024000402, told the board he bought the house in 2020 and that after receiving a homestead exemption the property's valuation rose 9% the following year. Mazurek said the special magistrate, Caleb Hollis, reviewed 31 comparable homes within roughly a quarter-mile, which Mazurek said produced an average cost-per-square-foot of $232; the property appraiser's per-square-foot figure was $264 and the parties ultimately “met in the middle” at $245 per square foot. “It's that 9% increase that I'm really concerned with,” Mazurek said.

Tiffany Pinkstaff, representing the Office of the Property Appraiser, asked the board to pull one recommended decision (case 20242126) for further review, saying the special magistrate relied on original mass-appraisal cost estimates without explaining why those figures should be preferred to a revised cost approach prepared by the property appraiser in response to the petition. “We're asking to pull this particular recommendation because it's inconsistent with other recommendations of similar nature,” Pinkstaff said.

Board attorney Aaron Falwell recommended adjusting one previously proposed reduction in assessed value and set specific assessed and taxable values in his written recommendation; the board followed the VAB attorney recommendations on the four previously deferred cases presented under the agenda. The board then approved the remainder of the special magistrate recommended decisions on the consent motion (the packet referenced 249 recommended decisions in total, which included the four already approved).

Erin Thawitzer, VAB clerk/counsel, explained why a separate set of petitions was dismissed: petitioners in those matters did not make the mandatory partial payment required under Florida Statute 194.014. “They did not make those payments,” Thawitzer said, and the statute requires the board to dismiss petitions when the payment was not made. The clerk said there were 12 line items on the agenda that represented 18 individual petitions that were dismissed under the statute.

Votes at a glance

- Approval of Feb. 13, 2025 meeting minutes — approved (voice vote). - Deferral of case 20242126 (property appraiser request) — motion to defer approved (voice vote). - Approval of VAB attorney recommendations on four previously deferred cases — approved (voice vote); attorney recommended setting assessed value to $1,050,560 and taxable value to $1,000,560 for the case discussed in the record. - Approval of special magistrate recommended decisions (packet of recommended decisions, reported as 249 total including previously approved items) — approved (voice vote). - Dismissal of 18 petitions for failure to make mandatory partial payments under Florida Statute 194.014 — approved (voice vote).

The board conducted the votes by motion and voice; the transcript records aye/nay voice votes but does not provide roll-call tallies. The meeting concluded after the listed business.

The meeting record shows follow-ups: the board deferred at least one matter for further review at the property appraiser's request and approved attorney and special magistrate recommendations where the VAB attorney advised consistency with prior recommendations. Several petitioners had their matters dismissed for nonpayment and were removed from consideration pursuant to the cited statute.