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How Seminole County modernized its entire Value Adjustment Board workflow with Just Appraised
2,200
Petitions submitted in 2024
1,460
Hearings held
1,200
Petitions submitted in 2025
10
Magistrates across four specialties
Seminole County, Florida
“We asked Just Appraised to build an application for managing the entire Value Adjustment Board process… The online portal allows taxpayers and tax agents to submit petitions, upload documentation, make credit card payments, and receive automated notices. It has been a huge step forward in how we serve the public.”
— Terry Porter, Deputy Clerk, Seminole County
Context & Challenges
As Deputy Clerk, Terry Porter oversees the full Value Adjustment Board (VAB) process for Seminole County. The Clerk of Court is responsible for managing the VAB, which includes two members of the Board of County Commissioners, one school board member, and two citizen members, one representing homesteaded property owners and one representing businesses.
Each year, any property owner can petition the VAB to dispute their assessed value or challenge denials of homestead exemptions, agricultural classifications, or other critical determinations. The process is governed by strict Florida Statutes and Department of Revenue (DOR) rules.
The workload is operationally intense:
- Hiring and onboarding special magistrates
- Scheduling and noticing thousands of hearings
- Recording all hearings and maintaining six years of records
- Managing invoices, ads, training, backup documents, Power of Attorney verification, duplicate filings, and more
- Reporting to seven municipalities, the school board, and the Department of Revenue
In 2024, the Clerk’s office processed 2,200 petitions and held 1,460 hearings. Even with significant staff effort, the process was complex, time-consuming, and heavily manual, and the team needed a more modern, scalable system.
Solution
In October 2024, the Clerk’s Office partnered with Just Appraised to build a new, fully digital VAB application, purpose-built to handle the entire petition lifecycle.
The office worked closely with Just Appraised’s engineering team for nearly a year, meeting weekly to design, refine, and test the platform. The system officially went live in August 2025, and the team had the opportunity to meet the engineers in person when they traveled to Seminole in September.
What this means for taxpayers & agents:
- Simple online portal for filing petitions
- Secure evidence upload
- Credit card payment for filing fees
- Automated email notices for hearing scheduling and status updates
What this means for the Clerk’s Office:
- End-to-end case management
- Automated hearing scheduling and notifications
- Centralized petition dashboard
- Integrated document handling
- Audit-ready records
- Automated reminders and compliance workflows
The system ensures every step aligns with DOR guidelines while reducing administrative lift for the Clerk’s Office.
Results
The new VAB portal transformed the Clerk’s workflow by streamlining petition intake, automating communications, and ensuring consistent, compliant scheduling.
Notable improvements include:
- Faster petition intake with fewer manual touchpoints
- Automated hearing scheduling with instant email confirmations
- Consistent, accurate record-keeping for all hearings
- Easier management of magistrates across four specialties
- Better visibility into petition status for both staff and taxpayers
For the first time, petitioners can handle their entire appeal online — from filing to evidence submission to receiving hearing details. This modernized approach improves access, reduces phone volume, and shortens turnaround times.