Brewer and Lee read questions on audit retention, council office assistance, and privacy
The chairs ask about document retention requirements for residency proof, the process for council offices assisting constituents with exemptions, whether DOF will notify council offices of approval/denial, and how submitted documents are stored and deleted.
16.
State law provides DOF authority to audit within six years of any certification or documentation of primary residency submitted as proof of exemption.
Given the potential penalties for inaccurate or misleading submissions, did the department communicate to the property owners any document retention requirements for information that was used as proof of primary residence?
17.
Could you clarify the process for council offices assisting constituents with filing exemptions?
We were informed at the DOF info session on August 4th that cases could be submitted through the new DOF case management portal.
A week later, we were informed we should follow the exemption process outlined in the letter, despite many constituents being unable to do so.
Can we email the necessary documents directly to DOF on behalf of constituents who come to our offices?
We have been told the DOF is unable to accept paperwork that way, but many constituents cannot use the online portal.
Will finance commit to promptly letting council offices know whether exemptions have been approved or denied for cases that we have reached out on?
18.
Constituents have shared concerns about the privacy and security of documents they have to submit to file for the exemption.
Could you clarify how these documents are stored and the process for deleting them?