Page 78 - COO

Non-Profit Policies & Procedures ACCESS for America Inc.

b. Changes in neighborhood logistics, such as a median divider placed in a
highway that deprives a location from access to customers, rerouting of a
highway, closing of a railroad line or economic decline in the area that
forces the company's traditional customer base to move away.
c. Obsolete design for the company's particular business needs such as a
facility that has been specially designed to hold machinery that has been
made obsolete by a competitor's innovation or a communications facility
built with conventional wiring that is obsolete due to a switch in the
industry to the use of fiber optics.

d. Unique design aspects which meet company needs but would reduce the
value of a property to others.
e. A general downturn in the company's industry.

• Including Personal Property in Building Valuations: Property that is
movable is personal property and should not be included in a valuation of the
building. Many items such as piping, wiring, climate control systems,
generators, special supports and foundations for equipment may look like part
of the building to the assessor but should not be included in the building's
assessment.

2.0 APPEALING ASSESSMENTS

2.1 If upon review of the assessment and all other factors, the Finance Department
believes a downward adjustment to the property assessment is appropriate, an
appeal should be prepared. Experience has shown that if a company presents a
sound argument for challenging an assessment, the Company has an excellent
chance of receiving some type of tax reducing adjustment even if it is less than the
Company had requested.

2.2 The appeal case should include documentation of the above findings. It is
important to keep in mind that the property tax assessor may not be familiar with
the details of the company's business or industry, so the Company must prepare to
explain how such factors may affect a property's value.

2.3 Once a sound case is prepared, an appeal can be sought by simply calling the local
assessor's office and asking for an appointment to discuss the assessment. The
meeting with the local assessor will generally be informal. It is important to not
be adversarial with the assessor but to present the attitude that the Company is
helping the assessor to reach a more accurate valuation for the property by
presenting additional information.
2.4 If the Company does not receive any or a large enough adjustment, an appeal may
be made with the local Board of Appeals. These meetings will probably be more
formal and the Company may wish to provide expert testimony or obtain an
independent appraisal of the property to present to the Board of Appeals.

FCR107 – Property Tax Assessments rev 0.0 Page 3 of 4

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