PULASKI COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Last month, every property owner in Pulaski County got a letter in the mail last that re-assessed the value of their property. Many of the properties went up in value-- some sharply; and that has left some taxpayers feeling shocked.
The Pulaski County Assessor's Office has been working with thousands of homeowners that want to challenge their new price tag.
Landlord Adam Smith received one of those letters, and he's been working to appeal the price hikes to his properties. He added that the homes haven't changed much since they were last assessed five years ago.
"So I got a bill in the mail for a 220% increase... I have nine other bills like this from the county that, again, it's my burden to protest this to come to the table with documentation and support," Smith said.
Other Pulaski County residents like David Peterson, (whose home value went up by about a quarter) have also faced confusion about the next steps.
"We have to find out through Facebook, of course, about how all this works, because I guess the assessor's process is to kind of just follow along," Peterson said.
Lots of residents also agreed that their new value was too high, many of them have already made their way to the Pulaski County Assessor's office in hopes of receiving a lower estimate.
Joe Thompson with the assessor's office estimated that there has been, "just under just under 2100 parcels have been appealed in some shape or form."
Out of the appeals they've received so far, Thompson shared that nearly 15% have been informally approved, and just over 1% of them are headed to the board of equalization, and about 84% are still waiting for an answer.
Assessors still expect more appeals to come in the next few weeks, but Thompson said they had already been prepared for this kind of a reaction from owners.
"We're a little bit less busy, though than what I anticipated we would be, it's more like just the normal year for Board of Equalization," Thompson said.
Some residents have been continually frustrated with how the assessor's office has handled the valuations.
"I've called half a dozen times, I was on hold the last time I called 30 minutes, and then the system hung up on me," Smith said.
The county said they have been working as fast as they can after the initial flood of calls they received in July. And they have asked anyone that might not have gotten through in those first few busy days after letters were mailed out, to call back.
"Anyone who calls right now should be able to get through... no troubles at all," Thompson said.
He added that it wouldn't necessarily be practical to hire much more staff for their sporadic busy seasons, so they have been working around the clock with a limited workforce.
"We really are a customer service driven government agency that sounds like an oxymoron sometimes, but we really do appreciate our customers and appreciate their patience," Thompson said.
Pulaski County residents have since tried to budget for the up to 5% tax increase for where owners live and to 10% for rentals that they'll have to pay.
"I don't want to pass this on to my tenants at all. That's not my desire, my desire is to work with the county, and in hopes that the county will, will be fair," Smith added.
As a homeowner, here are some important dates you might need to know:
- July 29th was the deadline to informally appeal.
- Homeowners still have the option to appeal to the Board of Equalization by August 15th
- And by October 15th all homeowners should have their answers on their initial appeals.
Property owners have about a year before they will need to pay that on the new tax valuation.
People who are disabled, or a senior, (65 or older), can apply to freeze their tax value if they contact their assessor's office.