I must confess, I have several concerns about these valuations.
I believe their(our 3 tax assessors) analytical and evaluative talents have been lost. Let's apply the adage...You can't see the forest for the trees. Milbridge, her true character, the facts around income, and our very way of life is being threatened...and I stand by my word choice: threatened. Our assessors have lost the big picture and instead have relied on numbers fed to them by an appraiser. They failed to use their powers of reason.
I wonder how many other folks in town are saying What goes? Where has common sense and reason gone? Our assessors are granted judgment rights. These folks CAN and MAY analyze notes received by an appraisor. They do have the power to make final judgments about data received from appraisers.
Our assessors are responsible for analyzing tax appraisal info and applying it to local income data. Our tax assessors cannot simply say, Well, we entered the data given to us by the appointed appraiser, Warren Dow.
No, our tax assessors have been granted powers to use good judgment. They, in fact, have a responsibility to approach their final decisions with an informed mindfulness. These assesors have powers of decision making which rise above the appraisers notes.
Have the three Milbridge Tax Assessors lost the forest for the trees?
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I recently went in to meet with the assessors office to question the $20,000 valuation increase on my meager parcel of land. It was explained that the town on Milbridge has been approximately 15% below the state average on their land valuations. This "new" computer program is the quick fix to the problem. There is no siding on the new construction, no sheetrock inside, it is unfinished. Numbers are numbers, you can't make 2+2=3, but when will they take the demographics of our area into account? The struggling economy, availability of jobs, and the earnings of the community should be brought into this equation. It's so true Jacquie, there is a serious disconnect that is threatening the way of life up here. It's making it more difficult for the everyday people in Milbridge to earn a living and cover their debts. Quality of life is what you make it, but why hamper good people with unneeded additional taxes? The far reaching fingers of where these taxes go and what they are used for needs to be reviewed, and they need to keep the funds in town.
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