Below follows information about your tax assessments and how to appeal them as presented by Stacy Head at the August meeting. 

 

District B Councilperson Stacy Head took the floor in Betty Jefferson’s absence to discuss the issue of tax assessments. She offered the following points:

  • Visit www.opboa.org to find all kinds of local information, compare your assessments to your neighbors and make sure they’re in line
  • The 15th is the last day assessors are required to see people
  • Ms. Head understands that assessors are now seeing people
  • Even if you cannot get into City Hall, send the appeal form in
  • Betty Jefferson is using a different form from the other assessors- make sure you have the correct form.
  • Get a mailing receipt to protect yourself
  • Keep extra copies of all forms and proof you’ve submitted in time
  • If you want to bypass the assessor, you have until the 20th to file an appeal directly to the City Council
  • It is within your rights to submit directly to the board of review, but she advises you to Betty first.
  • Stacy Head will likely be our representative on that board.
  • Even if you do get a satisfactory response from the assessor, make sure you get it in writing or it doesn’t matter.
  • Provide documentation- appraisals, comparable properties from recent sales are ideal

Appeals will start being heard by the Board of Review on September 15 and go until October 10th. The process should go quickly, and they will be in session extra hours and weekends to make sure it all gets done in time.

If you have filed for an appeal, your appearance date will be mailed to you.

If you do not get a satisfactory result from the Board of Review, you will have ten days to appeal to

Baton Rouge.

Ms. Head went on the explain that City Council has agreed that millage needs to be rolled back, but they are only in charge of half the rate- the school board is in charge of the other half and they will not commit to a reduction in the tax rate.

           

She went on to state that property taxes are actually a small percentage of the city budget, which sees more income from sales tax and other fees than property taxes, and she wants to keep it that way. She is personally lobbying for lower millage rates.