Special magistrate hears property tax appeals across Hernando County; disputes focus on comps, square footage and adjustments

Special Magistrate Robert Hicks presided over a Nov. 20, 2025 hearing where petitioners and county property-appraiser staff contested assessments on roughly 15 single-family properties across Spring Hill, Weeki Wachee and Hernando Beach.

Hicks opened the session by swearing witnesses and stressing the limits of his role: “As a special magistrate, I’m an independent, impartial, and unbiased hearing officer,” he said, and reminded parties that he may consider only evidence presented on the record.

County appraisers, represented in the record by Doug Mack and other appraisal staff, repeatedly described the property-appraiser office’s use of the sales-comparison approach and the eight statutory criteria required by Florida law. Mack summarized the office’s methodology on multiple packets, saying the office had field-reviewed parcels and used three to five comparable sales, a cost-of-sale adjustment, and area adjustments to derive weighted means…