What actually happens at a Board of Review hearing
Ten to fifteen minutes, three people, no robes. Here is the shape of it.
The word "hearing" makes people imagine a courtroom. It is closer to a meeting.
The room
Typically three board members at a table, possibly the township assessor, and you. Most hearings run ten to fifteen minutes. There is no jury, no oath in most counties, and no lawyers unless someone brought one.
What you do
Explain in two or three minutes what you are claiming and why. Hand over your evidence. Answer questions. That is the whole of it.
What the assessor does
Explains how the value was produced and responds to your comparables — often by arguing they are not comparable. Expect this and be ready to say precisely which recorded attributes match.
What decides it
Whether your comparable properties are genuinely alike on the record, and whether your requested value follows from your own evidence. Boards respond well to a short, specific, arithmetic argument and poorly to a general sense of unfairness.
What not to do
Do not argue that your taxes are too high — the board does not set rates and cannot help. Do not allege favouritism unless you can prove it; it converts a technical discussion into a defensive one. Do not bring twenty comparables. Bring four good ones.
Afterwards
You get a written decision, usually weeks later. If it goes against you, the Property Tax Appeal Board is the next step.