St. John Tradewinds, March 8-14, 2010 = 15 Letters to St. John Tradewinds Stand Together for the Good of All Let’s Make It a Fair Competition We need our government 10 ace now “5 Doesn’t anyone else but me _ the last five years they have been Isn’t it time that it focuses on Since May 12, 2003, the District Court made proxies for the tax as- notice that the paper keeps a showing us the score and every something more competitive. sessor to issue property tax bills at the 1998 level until the government score on bad guys vs. police? For year the police loose. Greg Miller complied with the mandates of the injunction. The government neglected to issue property tax bills for three years creating financial hardship for property owners. dali a - fg ty Waive the 2006, 2007 and 2008 tax bills and issue the 2009 property 73, th “AGnoast Annual . tax bills at the 1998 level. The office of the tax assessor has contacted the financial institutions L of property owners and collected payments for the rescinded 2006 prop- | “O A cot Resi erty tax bill. In response financial institutions immediately increased hai fs ving ‘ the monthly mortgage installment to property owners who are burdened : Ul "a with the eminent fear of loosing their homes. ™ , Contact the financial institutions and remove levy. Refund the all : U monies collected for the rescinded 2006 property tax bill. Update the real property records in the office of the tax assessor with subdivisions filed with the office of cadastral and certificate of occu- pancy issued by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources. The $6.5 million Bearing Point revaluation is seriously flawed. De- lete the database and formula from the property tax system and conduct Proceeds dn WN. B. e y School eee : fa, dup N. Heyamin a completely new assessment in accordance with IAAO (International Association of Assessing Officers) standards as stated in Section 7 para- graph (a) of Act 6991 passed by the 27th Legislature of the Virgin Is- es A AY, M eke 20TH lands. The formula and rate for assessing real property tax must be com- parable to the entire territory and district. Bearing Point’s base rate for Hlawe @ sae ley houses on St. John is $360 per square foot, St. Thomas is $93 and St. Croix is $89. The base rate for land on St. John is $25.12 per square foot, hile or schoo on St. Thomas is $7.41 and St. Croix is $2.78. ow Amend Act 6991 — seniors and veterans should not have to choose which tax credit they cannot take when they are eligible for both. Give property owners whose assessments have increased over 125 percent from the previous year a 40 percent tax credit annually for five years. It is unconstitutional to require tax payers to pay 50 percent of the dif- ference of the previous bill and the new bill in order to appeal. The following senators stood up for the people by voting against Act 699lon January 31, 2008. They are Sen. Neville James, Sen. Ronald Russell, Sen. Terrence Nelson and Sen. Juan Figueroa Serville. Voting for Act 6991 were Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone, Sen. President Usie Richards, Sen. Celestino White, Sr, Sen. Liston Davis, Sen. Carl- ton Dowe, Sen. Louis Hill, Sen. Norman Jn Baptiste, Sen. Basil Ottley Jr., Sen. Alvin Williams, Jr., and Sen. James Weber IIT. Sen. at Large Car- men Wesselhoft was excused. Now we have an unbearable situation. Any formal appeal that the Board of Tax Review does not resolve within 120 days should automatically revert to the last uncontested as- sessed value. Provide property owner with guidelines of what to expect and how to prepare for the formal appeals process. Mass appraisal contracts ought to have provisions for recourse and compensation for flawed revaluations and useless work which must be exercised by the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, boards, tax assessor and involved parties. Be transparent. Any decision made must encompass the general good of all Virgin Island property owners. The Virgin Islands are already two districts. Three districts should not . 3 be created simply for assessment purposes. This is inconsistent. Sail abo unteer sailboat to the beach party or drive there | In conclusion, a government “for the People, by the People” is what : pace & West Indian Food Roan eee at the the Virgin Islands need. Noon Vie’s. Campground on the East End ay Myrtle Barry, Property Tax Committee Virgin Islands Unity Day Group, Inc.