441.37A Appeal of protest to property assessment appeal board.

1. a. Appeals may be taken from the action of the board of review with reference to protests of assessment, valuation, or application of an equalization order to the property assessment appeal board created in section 421.1A. However, a property owner or aggrieved taxpayer or an appellant described in section 441.42 may bypass the property assessment appeal board and appeal the decision of the local board of review to the district court pursuant to section 441.38.

b. For an appeal to the property assessment appeal board to be valid, a party must file an appeal with the board within twenty days after the date of adjournment of the local board of review or May 31, whichever is later. The appeal shall include the basis of the appeal and the relief sought. New grounds in addition to those set out in the protest to the local board of review, as provided in section 441.37, may be pleaded, and additional evidence to sustain those grounds set out in the protest to the local board of review may be introduced. The assessor shall have the same right to appeal to the assessment appeal board as an individual taxpayer, public body, or other public officer as provided in section 441.42. An appeal to the board is a contested case under chapter 17A.

c. Filing of the appeal with the property assessment appeal board shall preserve all rights of appeal of the appellant, except as otherwise provided in subsection 2.

d. A copy of the appellant’s appeal shall be sent by the property assessment appeal board to the local board of review whose decision is being appealed.

e. The property assessment appeal board may, by rule, provide for the filing of an appeal by electronic means. All requirements of this section for an appeal to the board shall apply to an appeal filed electronically.

2. a. A party to the appeal may request a hearing or the appeal may proceed without a hearing. If a hearing is requested, the appellant and the local board of review from which the appeal is taken shall be given at least thirty days’ written notice by the property assessment appeal board of the date the appeal shall be heard and the local board of review may be present and participate at such hearing. Notice to all affected taxing districts shall be deemed to have been given when written notice is provided to the local board of review. The requirement of thirty days’ written notice may be waived by mutual agreement of all parties to the appeal. Failure by the appellant to appear at the property assessment appeal board hearing shall result in dismissal of the appeal unless a continuance is granted to the appellant by the board following a showing of good cause for the appellant’s failure to appear. If an appeal is dismissed for failure to appear, the property assessment appeal board shall have no jurisdiction to consider any subsequent appeal on the appellant’s protest.

b. Each appeal may be considered by one or more members of the board, and the chairperson of the board may assign members to consider appeals. If a hearing is requested, it shall be open to the public and shall be conducted in accordance with the rules of practice and procedure adopted by the board. The board may provide by rule for participation in such hearings by telephone or other means of electronic communication. However, any deliberation of the board or of board members considering the appeal in reaching a decision on any appeal shall be confidential. Any deliberation of the board or of board members to rule on procedural motions in a pending appeal or to deliberate on the decision to be reached in an appeal is exempt from the provisions of chapter 21. The property assessment appeal board or any member of the board considering the appeal may require the production of any books, records, papers, or documents as evidence in any matter pending before the board that may be material, relevant, or necessary for the making of a just decision. Any books, records, papers, or documents produced as evidence shall become part of the record of the appeal. Any testimony given relating to the appeal shall be electronically recorded and made a part of the record of the appeal.

3. a. The burden of proof for all appeals before the board shall be as stated in section 441.21, subsection 3. The board members considering the appeal shall determine anew all questions arising before the local board of review that relate to the liability of the property to assessment or the amount of the assessment. All of the evidence shall be considered and there shall be no presumption as to the correctness of the valuation of assessment appealed from. If the appeal is considered by less than the full membership of the board, the determination made by such members shall be forwarded to the full board for approval, rejection, or modification. If the initial determination is rejected by the board, it shall be returned for reconsideration to the board members making the initial determination.

b. The decision of the board shall be considered the final agency action and is subject to judicial review as provided in section 441.37B, except as otherwise provided in section 441.49. A decision of the board modifying an assessment shall be sent to the county auditor and the assessor, who shall correct the assessment books accordingly. An appeal of the board’s decision under section 441.37B shall not itself stay execution or enforcement of the board’s decision.

c. The levy of taxes on any assessment appealed to the board shall not be delayed by any proceeding before the board, and if the assessment appealed from is reduced by the decision of the board, any taxes levied upon that portion of the assessment reduced shall be abated or, if already paid, shall, by order of the board, be refunded or credited against future property taxes levied against the property at the option of the property owner or aggrieved taxpayer.

d. If the subject of an appeal is the application of an equalization order, the property assessment appeal board shall not order a reduction in assessment greater than the amount that the assessment was increased due to application of the equalization order.

e. Each party to the appeal shall be responsible for the costs of the appeal incurred by that party.

2005 Acts, ch 150, §128; 2008 Acts, ch 1191, §74, 75; 2013 Acts, ch 123, §58 – 61, 64, 65, 69; 2014 Acts, ch 1093, §2; 2015 Acts, ch 138, §19, 161, 162; 2017 Acts, ch 151, §14 – 16, 29

Referred to in §428.4, 441.35

2017 amendments apply to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2018; 2017 Acts, ch 151, §29