The enigmatic D.C. panel charged with hearing appeals to property tax assessments has finally launched a Web site that names its members and some of its processes, a key step toward transparency, the panel’s longtime critics say.
The Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals is the second level in the appellate system, handling more than 3,400 cases this tax year of residents and businesses who believe their properties were assessed too high. Shrouded in secrecy, the board’s membership, schedule, operations and reasoning have long been a mystery to most taxpayers.
“Nobody knows what they’re doing,” said Marie Drissel, who has been urging changes to the board since 1989. “The regular public doesn’t have any idea what their decisions are.”
With direct influence on the value of billions of dollars in real property, the board’s decisions play a huge role in the amount of tax revenue the District collects annually. But Drissel, former director of the Office of Boards and Commissions, said the lack of public information about the panel made it “very difficult for any of us to know whether it’s an accurate projection of revenue.”
The board launched its Web site last week,which Drissel called a “giant leap in the right direction.” It provides the basis for an appeal and instructions on the appeals process, the names of 13 board members, the board’s calendar and its operating rules. It does not, to Drissel’s dismay, list the board’s decisions, which could provide a more accurate picture of the overall D.C. real estate market.
“We’re talking about a lot of money and it’s certainly something that should be made public,” she said. “Not having a Web page was shocking to me.”
Paul Strauss, the board’s chairman, said the Web site was planned as part of an overall technology upgrade. The panel wasn’t being secretive, he said, just very careful about what information it released.
“There is a law that says we have to review a lot of information that is confidential,” Strauss said. “And if we divulge any of that information, even accidentally, it’s a misdemeanor.”
