This
proposal is sound and has a history of success, however, there are four
primary approaches that will guarantee failure.
The
first is generating a petition. Petitions are inherently weak because
questioned signatures are extremely difficult to defend.
Second,
is taking an argument to the media. Once any government is taken to
task publically, in order to save face and assure that their position
is correct and legal they will spend their entire treasury for defense.
These deep pockets are virtually impossible to
defeat.
Third, one should avoid any action that will
result in a negative decision. A government decision is almost never
overturned. Again the defense mechanism.
Fourth, is the
grievance procedure. This fatal because primary assessment is based on
market value and the assessment administrator cannot speak any other
language. Next, the assessor is always correct. The grievance review is
stacked with assessors who have a vested interest in defending the
local assessor. From above a decision is almost never overturned. The
small claims procedure is administered by local adjudicators who again
have a vested interest in maintaining government correctness.
The data presented in this
paper is an adequate sample for the properties in this small geographic
area,
however, as more people begin to evaluate their own situation, I am
confident that similar results will be found across the
state.
Now, design a systematic attack on the problem.
1. The first task is to generate a large pool of participants.
2. Cost basis assessment procedures are already written into the real
estate law.
3. A major requirement is to have attorneys that can write modification
to the law that would designate the cost method to be applied as the
preferred method to assess property.
4. Find legislators that are friendly toward introducing the modifying
bill.
5. Here is the most important action. Legislators and the governor do
not read correspondence. Issues are evaluated on volume.
Common practice is to sort letters pro and con, then letters
are visually
observed for volume or physically weighed. Once people are identified
to submit a revised bill
a significant interest must be demonstrated. This is
accomplished through individual letters
on as heavy weight paper as possible. Letters are highly defensible and
difficult to rebuke.
6. When the bill is introduced the next
strategy is sending letters to individual legislators and the
governor. The goal is to flood their offices with paper, five
hundred letters are ream of paper, ten thousand is a case of
paper. In this state that goal should be quite
reachable.
7. Where assessments display any factor worthy of legal attack, follow
up,
however there is strength in numbers to effect required code
revisions.
