You've arrived home from a

long day at work and are opening the mail when an envelope from the Fayette

County Tax Assessor's office catches your eye.

As you gingerly open it, you

notice that your property has been reassessed and its value has dramatically

risen during the past year.

"But," you mutter

to yourself, "they don't realize my backyard was classified as a

wetland by the federal government."

What do you do now?

According to information from

the Assessor's part of the Fayette County Web page, you quickly inform

the office by Aug. 5 that you want to appeal the assessment.

Last year, nearly 700 residents

filed an appeal or just under 2 percent of the parcel owners, said Fayette

County Tax Assessors Department head Ellen Mills.

The appeal must be written

and must give descriptive information such as the parcel ID number or

map number. It must be signed and dated and must be received by the Board

of Assessors within 45 days from the date of the "Notice of Value."

You must declare on what grounds you are appealing and must give your

opinion of value.

The appeal can also be made

through arbitration. The property owner must include the same information

and adhere to the 45-day time limit. Arbitration requires the taxpayer

to submit a check for $67 payable to the Clerk of Superior court and be

prepared to pay all or part of the fees for independent appraisers and

a court-appointed referee.

The Web site also lists several

grounds for appeal including:

Value. Does value given

Taxability. Is the property

taxable or exempt?

Uniformity. Has the

property been valued with the same method as similar properties?

Denial of exemption.

Have you applied for and been denied homestead exemption or conservation

use covenant?

Only the person who owns the

property Jan. 1 has the authority to appeal if a change was made from

the prior year value or if the taxpayer filed a Return of Value with the

Tax Commissioner between Jan. 1 and April 1.

A Return of Value is filed

between Jan. 1 and April 1 with the Tax Commissioner.

A Return of Value is a declaration

of value. If you change your property in any way or simply disagree with

the valuation from the prior year you should file a Return of Value.

The Board of Assessors is required

to review their assessment and send you a "Notice of Value."

A Return of Value is not an appeal, however it may give you the right

to appeal later in the year.

If you appeal and the Board

of Assessors changes your value, you will receive a letter giving their

new opinion of value. You have 21 days to file an appeal to the Board

of Equalization if you are still not satisfied with the outcome.

If you appeal and the Board

of Assessors does not change their new assessment, they will automatically

forward your appeal to the Board of Equalization. They will also send

you a letter informing you of the status of your appeal.

Mills said only 250 residents

decided to appeal to the Board of Equalization.

The Board of Equalization is

a three-member panel of Fayette County taxpayers. They are appointed by

the Fayette County Grand Jury and are not affiliated with the Board of

Assessors.

Since the board does not work

under Mills' department, she could not provide an exact number of how

many appeals were successful, but said many residents don't even bother

showing up at the hearing.

The Board of Equalization will

set up an appointment with you in order to review your appeal. Their decision

will override the Board of Assessors.

The Board of Equalization will

notify the taxpayer of their findings within 10 days of their hearing.

The taxpayer has 30 days to appeal this new value to superior court if

still not satisfied.

A check for $67 payable

to the Clerk of Superior court must be submitted along with the written

appeal. Tax appeal cases are to be heard "first in line" in

Superior Court. Court is usually in session in March and September of

each year.

Fayette County

property values

Agricultural property

2003 value: $189.3 million

2002 value: $178.9 million

Commercial property

2003 value: $1.080 billion

2002 value: $1.043 billion

Residential property

2003 value: $6.84 billion

2002 value: $6.17 billion

Vehicles

2003 value: $67.08 million

2002 value: $61.66 million

Industrial property

2003 value: $268.92 million

2002 value: $264.76 million

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