Property appraiser candidates — Morgan Gilreath, left, Ruth Zimmerman, right.
Gilreath faces first challenge in 16 years
By Al Everson
posted Oct 29, 2008 - 9:06:55am
For the first time in 16 years, Morgan Gilreath is campaigning to remain Volusia County's chief property appraiser. His opponent claims he is not properly compiling the tax rolls.
Gilreath hasn't faced a challenge since 1992, when he won his first term. In 1996, 2000 and 2004, he was automatically re-elected because no one filed to run against him.
"It is an honor. It is the greatest honor I have ever had," Gilreath said. "It is up to the people of Volusia County to decide if they want me to continue."
Ruth Zimmerman, one of Gilreath's former employees, is opposing her former boss. While the incumbent is confident, he is taking nothing for granted.
Zimmerman said it's time for change.
"I think it's time to appraise the appraiser. I think it's time he was challenged and opposed," Zimmerman said.
Before he was elected property appraiser, Gilreath served as the chief deputy appraiser under Robert Hartman. When Hartman decided not to run again in 1992, Gilreath filed for the elected post.
A 30-year employee of Volusia County, Zimmerman worked under Gilreath for 16 of those years, from 1992 until her retirement earlier this year. She is basing her campaign on a theme of alleged flaws in the tax roll.
"The issue really is, I think there is a lot of incorrect data on the tax rolls," she said.
Zimmerman said the problem stems from a lack of standard operating procedures within the agency and a lack of oversight of lower-level staffers.
"My main platform has been, since I worked in the Property Appraiser's Office for 16 years, there is no written standard for day-to-day procedures. We have Florida Statutes and the IAAO [International Association of Assessing Officers] standards, but as far as day to day for Volusia County appraisers, there is nothing there that is used to make sure Daytona appraisers are doing it the same way as New Smyrna appraisers are doing it, and DeLand, Orange City," she said. "It's really the only way you can make sure there is a fair tax roll, and to make sure everybody is treated the same."
Gilreath dismisses his opponent's claims.
"My main issue is always to provide Volusia taxpayers with a fair and equitable tax roll," he said.
Gilreath has drawn flak from elected officials countywide for emphasizing to the press and public how county government, along with some cities and other local taxing jurisdictions, have actually raised taxes in recent years without raising their tax rates, because property valuations have risen in their jurisdictions.
Even though his remarks upset some leaders, Gilreath said he would not back away from speaking out on taxation matters.
"As an elected official, it is important to keep our taxpayers informed on what we think about issues. I have done that throughout my tenure, and I will continue to do that," he said.
Property owners and taxing authorities may indeed trust the tax rolls, according to Gilreath, who scored Zimmerman for charging otherwise.
"She doesn't know what she's talking about, relating to any inequities in the system," he said. "What she apparently does not understand is that values in Volusia County are different from one area to another."
The Property Appraiser's Office, Gilreath said, has broken down the county into some 3,000 neighborhoods; these very small localized units aid staffers in determining accurate values.
Differences in tax rates in these localities are not up to the property appraiser, Gilreath noted.
His agency does not set the tax rates, but the tax base it compiles is reliable and fair, as required by state law, he said.
"We are not the revenue side of the picture. We are the equity side of the picture," said Gilreath.
Zimmerman, however, insists the incumbent and his staff are not presenting an accurate tax base.
To illustrate her point, Zimmerman said a homeowner in Victoria Park in DeLand had contacted her about a possible overvaluation of her house on the golf course. The woman purchased her home earlier this year, said Zimmerman, and the Property Appraiser's Office had erroneously valued her lot at $195,000, markedly higher than neighboring parcels were valued.
"The other lots that they're using to value hers range from $84,000 to $165,000," said Zimmerman. "So why is hers $30,000 more?"
The homeowner in question, Dawn Koscoe, is appealing the valuation to the Value Adjustment Board.
Gilreath said he is not familiar with Koscoe's case, but he added he is willing to consider any questions about property values.
"We're willing to talk to anyone about the value of their property and explain how the value was derived," he said. "Everyone has the right to disagree with us and petition to the Value Adjustment Board, and the Value Adjustment Board is an independent agency with independent counsel who will review the taxpayer's information and our information and make a decision. We have Value Adjustment Board cases every year, we respect everyone's right, and if we find errors or problems or any type with our information, we correct them immediately."
Gilreath said the Property Appraiser's Office relies heavily on an advanced computer system to help produce the tax roll each year.
"Our computer system uses standard rates, standard descriptions and produces very consistent valuations for our 330,000 properties. Our rates are adjusted by location and for example, within a neighborhood, we can adjust a given property for location, shape, and physical characteristics, for example, on a golf course or on a lake rather than in the middle of a subdivision," he explained.
Zimmerman said she is quite familiar with the system.
"The last five years, I was senior staff for Mr. Gilreath. I oversaw the implementation of the current computer system," she said.
Her familiarity with the job, she said, doesn't stop with the computer system.
"I had to learn every job and have familiarity with doing it," Zimmerman said.
She also claims the Property Appraiser's Office currently lacks attention to the people working there.
"They need written procedures, ongoing training and testing," Zimmerman said.
Therefore, the change needs to come at the top, she argues.
While advocating change, Zimmerman nevertheless complimented Gilreath, who's had several articles about property appraisal published in trade journals.
"He is a very intelligent man, with writing books and writing papers to be published," she said. "The job is administrative, and we need to focus on that. ... He feels like everything is running very smoothly, and I don't think that it is."
Gilreath has a master's degree in real estate from the University of Georgia. Zimmerman is a DeLand High School graduate who attended Daytona Beach Community College.
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