Posted by Dinah on November 7, 2006, at 15:56:37
In reply to Re: Constitutional Ammendments, posted by Declan on November 7, 2006, at 15:35:46
Assessors assign a value of real estate and tangible personal property for the purpose of taxation. So many mils per dollar of value.
The results in New Orleans (and elsewhere for all I know) have been known to be wildly inconsistent, as newly owned properties might be assessed at their recorded sales prices while the house next door might still be valued at a fraction of that, because it hasn't changed hands.
And while I wouldn't dream of suggesting that anything out of line occurs, it has been suggested by others that knowing an assessor or making campaign contributions or in some way having a positive footing with an assessor has the potential, however unlikely, to subtly and unconsciously influence their judgement when it comes to mitigating factors and why a property might not be worth what you might think it was worth.
I wouldn't know. My tax bills are reasonable in general, because we have the homestead exemption which exempts hte first xxx dollars of your personal residence from tax. And there's also a permanent freeze on the valuation of taxpayers over sixtyfive who made, in the year asked, under a certain amount of income. I don't know my assessor, and am reluctant to part with my money for any sort of campaign contributions.
But it has been said that the millions of contented happy homeowners with low valuations and homestead exemptions come at the cost of businesses, and that makes for a poor business environment. However, that has nothing to do with the assessors of course. Except that the assessors assess the value of the business property, and the business owners are perhaps chafing at perceived unfairness and highly respect those assessors who might be sympathetic to their plight.
In general, the assessors office is considered for some reason a highly desirable one, and the seven assessors are likely loath to give it up. And those homeowners and business owners who are happy with their property taxes are unlikely to want to roll the dice with a new assessor, who might have completely different impressions of the many circumstances that might make a property less valuable than you might otherwise think.
poster:Dinah
thread:701018
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20061009/msgs/701339.html