With revaluations of the entire county 90% complete and a deadline to get it done looming in December, Lamar tax appraisers hit a roadblock in a tornado-stricken part of the county. The tornado, however, was not the problem. In the Brooks and Crawford areas, chief appraiser Jeannie Haddock found a mishmash of accessibility and desirability codes which resulted in varying values for similar lands to the tune of thousands of dollars per acre. ’I don’t know who did it but this map has three different codes,’ Haddock said. ‘There are big value differences but I have no sales to justify any of them, high or low. The whole land schedule needs to be redone but I have nothing to compare it to. There is no answer.’ Six properties are going before the board of equalization, five due to land valuation issues. One is appealing due to the loss of a home due to the tornado, though assessors admitted at the Sept. 8 meeting there is nothing they can do about that since the home was standing on Jan. 1. The equalization board has scheduled a series of hearings Sept. 26-29 at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily.
Be First to Comment