Johnson County may reconsider denial of tax refund

IOWA CITY - A recent vote by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors not to refund the taxes a resident paid after an erroneous assessment has gained the attention of some state legislators.

Statewide attention and mounting public discussion over the assessment that included a nonexistent cellular tower has Supervisor Mike Carberry taking another look at the matter.

'I am strongly considering a vote of reconsideration,” Carberry said Friday. 'There are compelling arguments on both sides.”

After hearing from numerous constituents about Thursday's vote not to grant Jean Fisher's request for a refund, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who described the issue as 'borderline theft,” reached out to the board Friday to encourage a reconsideration.

'I think the vote was asinine, I think all three supervisors who voted against it were dead wrong,” Kaufmann said. 'I think it's a no-brainer that the board should reconvene at their next meeting and file a motion to reconsider the vote.”

Supervisors Janelle Rettig and Pat Harney voted in favor of the refund, while Carberry and Supervisors Terrence Neuzil and Rod Sullivan voted against it.

Several years ago, Fisher entered into an agreement with Verizon Wireless to allow for the construction of a cellular tower on a portion of her property near 4981 Morse Rd. The tower was never built.

In 2010, a Johnson County assessor performed an assessment of Fisher's property but mistook a monopole tower two miles from Fisher's site as the Verizon tower. The chunk of property was changed from agricultural to commercial, thus increasing the property tax payments for both Fisher and Verizon Wireless.

The belief that the tower existed increased Fisher's tax bill by roughly $1,600 a year. The erroneous assessment cost Fisher roughly $5,000 in total, according to county documents.

Verizon Wireless, which paid roughly $25,000 due to the assessment, has not contacted the county about the increased taxes.

Officials with the Johnson County Assessor's Office have admitted the mistake but said there is a procedure - including taking the matter to the Board of Review - for taxpayers to address assessment discrepancies within a set time frame. Fisher failed to do so in the timely manner required.

All the Board of Review could do was change the value retroactively for the 2013 assessment, which since has taken place. Fisher wants a refund of all the extra taxes she paid, back to 2011.

Carberry said he had lengthy discussions with Fisher and county staff over the matter and hopes to make a decision on whether to request a vote of reconsideration by early next week.

'I have a lot of thinking to do in the next couple of days,” he said, adding that he remains concerned about the potential precedent that might be set by granting the refund. 'This could possibly open a Pandora's box.”

Kaufmann said he understands that mistakes will be made and said he has no ill feelings toward the county board or staff, but described the argument about setting a precedent as a 'red herring and ridiculous.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3175; mitchell.schmidt@thegazette.com