Assesment Information
Dear District A Resident:
I am aware that the new, higher assessments have alarmed many residents of District A. For the record, while I fully support more fair and equitable assessments, I am committed to ensuring that the byproduct of this is not an unnecessary increase in taxes across the board.
Because of that, I would like to provide you with some additional information about the process so that you are aware that a higher property assessment does not necessarily lead to a higher and/or proportionally higher tax bill.
Most importantly, you can appeal your assessment. If you believe that your assessment is too high (i.e. not the fair market value of the property), you should appeal to your assessor in person, between August 1 and 15, 2007. The phone numbers of the assessors are listed below, but you can appeal in person at their offices on the 4th floor of City Hall. If you do not receive a satisfactory answer from your assessor, you may appeal again by completing a form at the Assessor’s office. The hearings for this level of appeal are heard by the Board of Review in September. After that, appeal is available to the Louisiana Tax Commission.
Secondly, State law requires the City Council to roll back (or reduce) the millage to the level that would keep 2008 revenue equal to 2007. It can only roll forward (or increase) the millage to take advantage of the additional revenue based on a higher total assessed value of the City with a 2/3 vote. Furthermore, once the millage is set in 2008, it cannot be rolled forward until the next assessment year – 2012.
Once the budget is approved (the budget must be approved on or before December 1), based on the millage required to cover debt service which is recommended by the Board of Liquidation, and the revenue the City must generate to cover the budget, the City Council adopts a millage in December. That millage rate is used to compute your tax bill, which is sent to you in January. The City Council does not vote on millages set by the Board of Liquidation, Levee Board, School Board, and the Orleans Law Enforcement District.
Finally, I think most of us living in New Orleans are aware of the unfair assessment system we have suffered with over the years in which similar properties in similar areas are assessed unequally, and many properties have not been accurately assessed for years. As the City works toward the goal of fair and accurate assessments, I remain committed to ensuring that the City budget remains affordable to its citizens so that the millage can actually be lowered because EVERYONE is carrying the tax burden equitably.
Sincerely,
Shelley Midura
Orleans Parish Board of Assessors Offices are located in City Hall, Fourth Floor, East
Office hours: M-F 9am-4pm
1st Municipal District – Darren G. Mire - 658-1310
2nd Municipal District – Claude T. Mauberret - 658-1320
3rd Municipal District – Erroll G. Williams – 658-1330
4th Municipal District – Betty Jefferson – 658-1340
5th Municipal District – Tom Arnold – 658-1350 - Algiers Courthouse Office 368-7642
6th Municipal District – Nancy Marshall – 658-1360
7th Municipal District – Henry Heaton – 658-1370
July 31st, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Questions:
1) Where was the letter initially published. Would ALL District A residents have been able to see it?
2) For me, just a regular guy in the city, I do not understand what the letter actually says? Is everyone paying their fair share?
3) We know the assessments were low last time around due to Katrina, but mine for one, jumped from 4,000 to 13,000. With the limited housing stock and 6,000 houses siting on the city demo list will I ultimately be paying taxes for ONLY my property or will I be paying for all those “green spaces” we’ll be seeing soon.
4) How will we know WHEN the city has worked toward fair and accurate assessments AND that EVERYONE is carrying the tax burden equitably. Since this has NEVER been the case are we hoping for an act of God?
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:04 am
Yeah, I just moved into the house (not that that has anything to do with the assessment, just that at least I wasn’t used to paying the lower amount) and it jumped from 3,000 to 15,000. Shazam.
August 8th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Last evening at NIght Out we kicked around the idea that maybe if you had a LIVEABLE, VIABLE house instead of “in need of repairs”, you were assessed differently. When I spoke to a lady at the assessors office she said a team went out and “assessed from the outside of the homes and spoke to the homeowners when they could”. HMMMMMM…business as usual. I get that people that haven’t had the opportunity (for a miriade of reasons that are totally valid) to rebuild don’t want to pay a higher assessment but who does? And my question remains….are we picking up the slack, and if so then just have the balls to say so.