Chief D.C. tax appraiser’s work history in question

The District’s chief tax appraiser, who is facing questions over his role in the lowering of hundreds of commercial property values, stated on his 2011 job application that he left a prior job in Georgia because his contract was completed, even though he had sued his former employer after he was terminated.

Tony L. George made no mention of his 2010 termination from Fulton County, Ga., in his fourth year of a five-year contract as assistant chief appraiser there. He had filed a lawsuit several months later against the county alleging discrimination and breach of contract. When asked on his D.C. job application for the reason for leaving his post, George cited “completion of contract.”

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See Tony George’s resume and employment application.

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Since embezzlement scandal in 2007, audits said the office was still vulnerable to errors and fraud.

• Read tax reports obtained by The Washington Post
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Nikita Stewart and Debbie Cenziper

D.C. Council members express concerns about the vetting of the District’s chief tax appraiser. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 10 to discuss tax office operations.

D.C.’s chief tax appraiser embroiled in controversy

Nikita Stewart and Debbie Cenziper

Tony L. George faced complaints about bias and tax reductions in his former job in Georgia.

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Debbie Cenziper and Nikita Stewart

Natwar Gandhi’s office has been urged to conduct more thorough background checks, especially those who handle money.

Councilman questions tax database controls

Nikita Stewart and Debbie Cenziper

David A. Catania has sent a letter to the District’s chief financial officer seeking a response to an internal audit that questioned oversight of the city’s property appraisal database.

Audit: Some D.C. tax officials could alter property data without detection

Debbie Cenziper and Nikita Stewart

An audit finds a few managers could alter the assessed property values, leaving the city vulnerable to “erroneous or inappropriate transactions.”

D.C. tax deals prompt anger, investigations

Debbie Cenziper, Nikita Stewart and Ted Mellnik

District officials have shaved $2.6 billion off the taxable value of commercial properties, angering city appraisers and prompting an investigation, The Washington Post found.

The discrepancy surfaced as District officials continued to urge the D.C. Office of the Chief Financial Officer to conduct more thorough background checks of high-level job candidates. More than a decade ago, the agency discovered that its general counsel was not a lawyer.

George, hired for the D.C. tax appraiser job in November 2011, also wrote on his job application and his résuméthat he was a certified, level four appraiser in Georgia — the highest level designated by the Georgia Department of Revenue, which runs a continuing-education program for appraisers that includes certification. But public records and an interview with a state official show that George did not receive a high enough score on an exam to be certified in the top level.

“Mr. George never achieved level four,” said Jud Seymour, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Revenue. “He did not achieve the prerequisite score.”

George passed the level four exam on his sixth try but did not receive the score on the level three exam necessary for level four certification, Seymour said. In the District, tax office appraisers are exempt from local licensing requirements, a city official said.

George’s tenure as chief appraiser has come under scrutiny in recent months after The Washington Post reported that his office had lowered the proposed taxable value of 500 commercial properties by $2.6 billion, settling the tax disputes before the city’s appeals process could play out.

The reductions, which D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi has said were necessary to avoid litigation, meant that the city collected about $48 million less in potential revenue for 2012 than the original assessments would have generated. The number of reductions created dissension within the tax office. One employee filed an anonymous complaint on an employee hotline, and the FBI and internal auditors have been investigating, according to several people familiar with the probe who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. George has not returned calls and e-mails seeking comment.

Through a public records request, The Post in July sought a copy of George’s résuméand job application. Gandhi’s office declined to provide the documents, stating that they contained personal information exempt from disclosure.

The Post appealed to the mayor’s office, which last week ordered the agency to release the records, subject to redaction of personal information, saying that the public interest in such documents outweighed any privacy interest.