Cuyahoga County Board of Revision Rules of Procedure
Pursuant to Article VI,Section 6.02 of the Cuyahoga County Charter amended by the electors on November 5, 2013, the following Rules and Procedures as required in sub-section 5, have been adopted on July 11, 2014.
BOR - Rules of Procedure
5715.19 (A) (f) Any person owning taxable real property in the county or in a taxing district with territory in the county; such a person's spouse; an individual who is retained by such a person and who holds a designation from a professional assessment organization, such as the institute for professionals in taxation, the national council of property taxation, or the international association of assessing officers; a public accountant who holds a permit under section 4701.10 of the Revised Code, a general or residential real estate appraiser licensed or certified under Chapter 4763. of the Revised Code, or a real estate broker licensed under Chapter 4735. of the Revised Code, who is retained by such a person; if the person is a firm, company, association, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, an officer, a salaried employee, a partner, or a member of that person; if the person is a trust, a trustee of the trust; the board of county commissioners; the prosecuting attorney or treasurer of the county; the board of township trustees of any township with territory within the county; the board of education of any school district with any territory in the county; or the mayor or legislative authority of any municipal corporation with any territory in the county may file such a complaint regarding any such determination affecting any real property in the county, except that a person owning taxable real property in another county may file such a complaint only with regard to any such determination affecting real property in the county that is located in the same taxing district as that person's real property is located.
Any person is permitted to observe a board of revision hearing, provided all policies and procedures established by the board are followed. Court Reporters are permitted at the expense of the requesting party.
A written, e-mailed or faxed request must be received by the Board of Revision not less than twelve (12) Business Days prior to the Scheduled Hearing stating why a continuance should be considered. When a continuance is requested due to a conflict in another Court, Tribunal or Administrative Board, the requestor must include a copy of the conflicting assignment. Exceptions to the twelve (12) day rule will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
The Board of Revision will only consider stipulations for the full market value of the parcels contained in the complaint in question as it relates to the lien date. The Board of Revision is not bound to accept any submitted stipulations.
If a Board of Revision Hearing Officer determines there is a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest with any party or any matter on his or her docket, the Hearing Officer is to remove himself or herself from the case and notify the Administrator of the Board of Revision. The parties and Hearing Officers have a duty to notify the Administrator of the Board of Revision of any conflicts or appearance of a conflict that they are aware of regarding Board of Revision cases. The Administrator may re-assign Hearing Officers from other boards to hear the complaint if needed.
All evidence is requested seven (7) business days prior to the hearing and must relate to the lien date of January 1 of the tax year. Submitting evidence containing less than fifty (50) pages requires only one (1) copy. Evidence containing over fifty (50) pages requires triplicate copies submitted to the Board of Revision. The Board of Revision may not consider evidence not timely submitted or not authenticated or cross-examined because its author is absent. The Board of Revision may request additional evidence after the hearing. Redact All Account, Customer I.D., Loan and Social Security Numbers, Date Of Birth And Any Other Sensitive Information from All Documents Submitted.
- Arms-length sale, documented by recorded deed, closing statement (HUD-1), purchase contract, and/or conveyance fee statement (DTE 100).
- Recent appraisal report of the subject property made for tax valuation purposes and authenticated by the appraiser during the hearing. Other opinions of value may be considered and given consideration.
- Certified estimates from a contractor for repairs cited on the complaint. Major structural issues may affect the value of the property while regular maintenance needs (new roof, new driveway) are typically factored into the existing current value based on the age/condition of the property.
- Dated interior/exterior photos of the property and comparable properties showing the condition.
- New construction costs certified by the builder and should include both hard and soft costs.
- Tax Map, Topography Map or Plat Map, showing the subject property.
- Lease agreements and/or rent rolls. Income and expense statements (Certified by Public Accountant or otherwise authenticated) or appropriate schedules of complainant’s Federal Income Tax Return [with TINs redacted], including all notes and other material included in such audited statement(s);
- The owner, property manager, appraiser, or other expert, who has personal knowledge of the business records, operations, and/or condition of the property, shall appear as a witness before the Board and be prepared to testify as to the accuracy and completeness of the documents, information, or reports offered as evidence.
- The Board may request any party to submit additional evidence after the hearing, but prior to the Board's decision. The request for additional evidence shall be made on the record. All supplemental evidence and the time of its submission shall be made a part of the record. The Board may not consider additional documentation not timely submitted or not authenticated because its author is absent and not capable of being cross-examined
The Board of Revision has established the following rules for both the Regular and Special meetings. The Regular meeting shall be held on the second Monday in January of each year pursuant to section 5715.09 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Administrator of the Board of Revision and/or a member of the Board may call for a Special meeting. The Regular or Special meeting agenda will be posted in a common conspicuous location in the building location of the meeting with a copy of the agenda identifying the time, date, location and agenda items and posted on the Board of Revision internet site in addition to the County’s Executive’s webpage calendar of events. The Administrator shall mail or email the agenda of the Regular and Special meetings to all subscribers on a mailing list provided by the person requesting notice of such meeting.
Under Ohio law, the Board of Revision only accepts complaints each year from January 1 through March 31. (If March 31 falls on a weekend, the deadline is extended to the next business day.) All complaints must be filed with the Board of Revision by March 31. If you file by mail, the letter must bear a United States postmark of March 31. A private-meter postmark on the envelope is not a valid postmark for establishing the filing date.
The Board of Revision will accept TAX YEAR 2022 complaints between January 1, 2023 and March 31, 2023 at 4:30 p.m. E.S.T. If you file by mail, the envelope must bear a United States postmark of March 31, 2023 to be considered timely.
The Board is required to provide notice to the property owner whose property is the subject of the complaint filed by someone other than the owner, and to the School Board where the property is located for any complaint seeking a $50,000 change in market value (or taxable value of $17,500).
The deadline to file a counter complaint is within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice of a complaint filed.
The Board is required to mail a hearing notice at least ten (10) days before the hearing date by certified mail. You are strongly encouraged to attend the hearing with supporting evidence. Hearing Officers often have additional questions to help them understand the merits of the complaint.
No appraiser, real estate agent or broker, or other person rendering an opinion of value or giving other testimony before the Board shall have a financial interest in the case, in the form of a contingent fee or other form of compensation directly or indirectly based upon the outcome of the case. This paragraph does not apply to a complainant or counter-complainant, or to an individual owner of the property or to a bona fide member, partner, shareholder, fiduciary, or officer of an entity, testifying as to condition, circumstances, or value of the property.
Disclaimer
All filers are advised that all documents filed with the Board of Revision are public record and will be available to the public on the internet. Filers should not put certain types of personal, identifying information in documents submitted to the Board of Revision. If the document contains personal identifying information, that information should be blacked out or redacted before it is submitted to the Board of Revision for filing. The Board of Revision will not review documents filed to confirm that personal identifying information has been omitted. The responsibility to omit personal identifiers rests solely with the party submitting the document. Personal identifying information includes but is not limited to social security and taxpayer identification numbers, names of minor children, dates of birth, financial account numbers, driver’s license numbers, and alien registration numbers. Any person has the right to request the Board of Revision to blackout or redact any information pertaining to any personal identifying information contained in document(s) submitted to the Board of Revision. The request must be made in writing by U.S. mail, facsimile, or electronic transmission or hand delivered to the Board of Revision.