Page 8 - Boca Club News - February '22

Page 8, Boca Club News
Memo from County Tax Collector

Anne M. Gannon: Our New Westlake Office,

Adjusting Your Property’s Taxable Value, and More

By Anne M. Gannon, Constitutional Making an Appointment is Easy as 1, 2, 3. The Tax can file a petition with the VAB if they feel the assessment,
Tax Collector serving Palm Beach Collector offers many services such as driver’s license, classification or exemption status for their property is
County. You can reach her office motor vehicle, vessel, property tax, tourist development tax, incorrect. Regardless of the outcome or pending status of the
by Email: ClientAdvocate@ business tax, and more. There is a good chance that at some petition, the required portion of the property taxes are due
taxcollectorpbc.com. Phone: (561) point you will need to visit one of our six service centers by April 1st to the Tax Collector to avoid penalties, as per
355-4271. within the next year for one or more of the services listed Florida Statute 194.014. This new resource sheet will assist
Well, the new year has gotten above. We want to make this process as client friendly as clients who have had their VAB petition administratively
off to a challenging start here in the possible by breaking it down to three easy steps: granted during this time.
Tax Collector’s Office as we are 1. Browse the Types of Service that we offer to determine An overview of the petition process is available on the
managing through the latest COVID-19 surge. Like many what appointment you need Clerk’s website at www.mypalmbeachclerk.com, including
other offices and businesses, this latest surge has resulted 2. Check our latest guidelines on How Appointments Work an online portal for filing.
in numerous staff being out in order to rest and get healthy. to prepare for your visit to one of our locations Charitable Giving. In our December column, we talked
My staff is working diligently to process the influx of work 3. Make Your Appointment by selecting the service you need about the generosity and giving spirit of our employees. This
we are receiving as a result of being in the middle of tax along with the location, date, and time. holiday season, they “knocked our socks off” in a holiday
season. Rest assured that our focus is to process the volumes Reminder: Our appointment system can only schedule sock drive for one of our charity partners, Living Hungry.
of work as quickly as possible, and that our staff is safe and appointments up to 60 days in advance. If no appointments Employees were challenged to donate 1,000 pairs of socks
healthy. I, along with our entire team, greatly appreciate are available for the requested transaction, please continue to the local charity that partners with the school district
your patience as we work through these challenges. to check back periodically for appointments to become to deliver supplies to those who need it most–homeless
Notwithstanding these challenges, I am thrilled that in available. students right here in the Palm Beach County community.
February our new service center in the City of Westlake opens New Resource Available for VAB Petitioners. The Tax Employees doubled that goal and donated 2,087 pairs
for business! This new state of the art 23,735-square-foot Collector’s Office is committed to working with our partner of socks! Socks are one of the most-requested items;
service center will replace the current facility in Royal Palm agencies to best serve the residents of Palm Beach County. one fresh pair of clean and new socks adds dignity to an
Beach and serve the western communities of our county. I We’ve teamed up with the office of Dorothy Jacks, Property already challenging circumstance of being homeless while
look forward to welcoming clients to this new location! Appraiser, on a fact sheet called “What to Expect After Your a full-time student. The majority of our donation will
Value Adjustment Board (VAB) Petition is Administratively go to elementary students. See more on our community
Granted,” which will be provided to clients involved with involvement at: https://www.pbctax.com/about-us/
the petition process. community-involvement/.
The Value Adjustment Board (VAB) is an independent Important Dates & Deadlines:
entity which includes elected officials and citizen members February 21st Presidents’ Day Observed – Offices Closed
who approve Special Magistrates to preside in a public February 28th Last day to receive 1% discount on your
hearing format. Joseph Abruzzo, Clerk of the Circuit property tax
Court and Comptroller’s office serves as the Clerk of the
VAB, processing all petitions, scheduling hearings and
maintaining all records.
Each August, Palm Beach County’s taxpayers are
notified of their property’s assessed and market value by the
Property Appraiser’s office. At that time, the property owner