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Once all testimony concludes, the BER votes, generally, and the hearing is over.
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When the Board of Equalization and Review (BER) is ready, a staff representative invites the taxpayer to the podium, where he or she may begin arguing a case. Upon arrival, the taxpayer is invited to sit in the audience or take a seat in the lobby outside of the meeting area. These meetings are considered open meetings in North Carolina. Durham County is set up much like any other North Carolina county regarding its tax valuation appeal process. Testing the Local Government Appeal ProcessĪfter this experience, I wanted to do an experiment. I remember that impression, that blank and emotionless stare, like I was a complete and utter disturbance. I don’t remember how much the donuts cost me, nor which donuts I ended up buying. While the employee remained pleasant after I broke the initial uncomfortable and unnecessary silence, even if I was offered a $100 gift card, I don’t know if that would have changed my perception of the experience. Here is the problem: With that start, the experience of not being welcomed, not even being spoken to, it would have been nearly impossible to have won me back. The emotionless face then turned semi-pleasant, with an indication of being ready to help. I broke the silence and asked, “Are you ready for me?” with a slight shrug of my shoulders. This stare goes on for an uncomfortable amount of time, 15-20 seconds. No one else is in line, with only a few people scattered around the store. After 30 seconds or so standing there thinking through these tough donut choices, the employee closed the display.Īt this point, the employee stood up and gave me a blank stare. As I walked up to the counter and began eyeing the donuts like a kid in a candy store, an employee was replenishing the shelves. Once I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was not busy.
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Recently, a donut store in town was offering a special deal: buy a dozen donuts, get a second dozen for $1.