Property owners need to speak up on errors

To The Eagle:

One would expect that getting information from a public office would not be difficult or next to impossible. After one month of persistence I have had the official Wahkiakum County sales study used to compute the Puget Island R4 valuations forwarded to me and it wasn’t by the Assessor’s Office. Although the Assessor’s office has “one in the mail” it has not yet arrived.

There are errors in this study. Even though the new appraiser is moving swiftly to correct valuations as property owners speak up, there are a lot of people who haven’t spoken up. If all nearby counties are recognizing that their properties are in a market correction and have accommodated property owners accordingly then why didn’t it happen here? Across the board this little island was vastly over valued in 2006 and the mistake was compounded this cycle.

Speak up folks. When your new taxes come out tied to the valuations you were sent, valuations possibly made from erroneous material “your hands may be tied.” When our county bill comes due my husband and I won’t feel put upon when writing the check. We spoke up and our valuation was changed. No hands tied here.

Paula Carlson

Cathlamet