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| Updated: 8/14/2012 10:21 pm |
Published: 8/14/2012 10:18 pm |
LITTLE ROCK, AR – A special meeting was held Tuesday night at the Pulaski County Quorum Court to address concerns of residents who feel their most recent property tax assessment is too high.
Quorum Court members took Assessor Janet Troutman Ward and Chief Assessment Administrator Joe Thompson to task on the thousands of potential mistakes made on property tax assessments that went out last month.
Homeowners in Heights, North Little Rock, and Jacksonville have complained that the increases in their property value are unwarranted given the economy.
Mark Leggett, who owns a building in downtown Little Rock, says the assessment of his building went from $450,000 to $650,000, a 44% increase.
"From a real estate perspective, we're hearing increase in values from the county appraisers 10, 15, 20, 30 percent and higher. There's not an area anywhere in Pulaski County that's had that kind of real estate appreciation," said Leggett.
Thompson defended the office, saying the problems were not systemic, rather just human error. Thompson gave an example of a man whose property value shot up by nearly $1 million because he was marked down for 50, 50-foot cell towers rather than a single cell tower.
If you feel your property has been overvalued, the only recourse you have to call the assessor’s office by the August 20th deadline. Their number is 501-340-8817.