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Daviess County board denies Shepherd Hill Holdings appeal after no-show
Summary
The Daviess County Property Tax Board of Appeals on Nov. 13 denied an appeal by Shepherd Hill Holdings LLC for failure to appear. Staff said the appeal form lacked a specified requested change and that the assessor used an income approach under a Section 42 designation; the assessor — not the board — may assess a $50 no-show penalty.
The Daviess County Property Tax Board of Appeals denied an appeal filed by Shepherd Hill Holdings LLC during its Nov. 13 meeting after the appellant failed to appear.
The presiding member opened the hearing and, after staff confirmed multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact the appellant by phone and email, the board voted unanimously to deny the appeal for failure to appear. The board recorded affirmative votes from all members present and carried the motion to deny.
Why it matters: The decision ends the board-level review of the assessment unless the appellant pursues further review. Staff and the assessor’s representative said the appeal paperwork did not specify the change sought, and county records show the property was assessed using an income approach because it is treated under a Section 42 designation.
Brian Cusimano of Nexus, who represented the county assessor at the hearing, said the appeal form was incomplete and that the assessor’s office had applied an income-based valuation. "They did not complete that part of the form," Cusimano said, referring to the requested change field. He also noted that the income approach had been used on the property, which supports the assessment method applied.
Board members and staff discussed whether a penalty could be imposed for failing to appear. "I believe there's a $50 penalty that can be imposed for failure to appear," Cusimano said during the discussion. Staff read a statutory provision cited in the meeting that was transcribed as "6-1.1-15-1.2," and clarified that the county assessor — not the board — is the authority that may assess any such penalty under that subsection. A staff member also read language explaining that a taxpayer may appeal any assessed penalty to the appropriate tax review process or tax court and that the penalty cannot be added to the taxpayer's regular property tax statement under the cited provision.
Next steps: The board’s denial for failure to appear does not foreclose further review. Staff noted that a taxpayer typically has a statutory period (as read at the hearing: 45 days) to appeal board decisions to the next review body or to seek judicial review in tax court. The board also requested that future in-room meetings be recorded and posted.
The meeting was adjourned following the vote.
