Homeowners have until Aug. 22 to appeal property tax spikes
21st August 2019 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Many New Orleans residents, faced by recent property assessments announcing skyrocketing property taxes for their neighborhoods, have until August 22 to file appeals for relief.
A July 26 article by The-Times Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate’s Jeff Adelson cited data from the Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office on the increases. Approximately 26,000 properties are in neighborhoods where the average sale price rose by over 50 percent in four years. One of the hardest-hit areas was the neighborhood around University Medical Center and the Veterans Medical Center. Its average price of $131 per square foot is over triple its 2015 assessment. The Columbia Park mixed-income development (where the St. Bernard Housing Projects used to be) saw prices more than double to a current average of $147 per square foot. Average prices increased by over 50 percent along the Oretha Castle Haley corridor in Central City.
Morgan Clevenger, president of the Fairgrounds Triangle Neighborhood Association, said one of her neighbors saw her assessment climb from $167,000 to $419,000 in the past year.
These increases throughout the city have many longtime residents fearing they will no longer be able to live in their homes. For retirees or the disabled living on a fixed income, the property tax spikes have dealt a devastating blow. But there are ways these residents can seek help.
Property owners who will be 65 or older by December 31, 2019 can apply for an “Age Freeze,” which freezes their taxable assessment for life. But documents (available at NOLAassessor.com) must be filled out and submitted by August 22.
Special assessment benefits can also be granted for people with disabilities who meet certain income criteria. Homeowners must provide their Annual Adjusted Gross income for 2018.
Any other appeals to home assessments must also be filed by August 22. All formal appeals must either be done online or at one of three locations: the fourth floor of City Hall (1300 Perdido Street); the Algiers Courthouse (225 Morgan Street); or the second floor of the Lakeview Christian Center (5885 Fleur De Lis Drive).
Many people, however, were unaware of these options. At an August 12 call to action meeting by the Fairgrounds Triangle Neighborhood Association, dozens of residents attended because they were confused and unsure of what to do, as well as outraged at the prospect of being forced out of their homes.
In a May 6 letter to Assessor Erroll G. Williams, Andreanecia Morris, executive director for Housing NOLA, called for the assessor’s office to initiate a proactive outreach strategy to educate homeowners about their rights and inform them of tax relief policies and programs that could help ease their financial burdens. In the letter, Morris stated that data indicated 35 percent of eligible seniors were not utilizing the age freeze and only a small portion of those with disabilities were taking advantage of the disability freeze.
In a June 11 response letter to Morris, Williams defended his office’s outreach policies and said their information flyers and newsletter are updated every year. He said any concerns about taxes or bill collection should be addressed to the City of New Orleans’ Finance Department.
Clevenger said the assessor’s office’s efforts have been inadequate. The Fairgrounds Triangle Neighborhood’s Facebook page (facebook.com/FairgroundsTriangle) includes correspondence between the neighborhood association and Williams’ office. Many questions were left unanswered by the assessor.
“With an $11 million budget (for the assessor’s office) funded by our taxes, we have the right to expect accurate, timely, complete information that can actually help people,” Clevenger said. “The hurdles and hoops folks are having to jump through to get through the appeal process are reminiscent of poll taxes… People feel sucker punched right where it hurts the most: their pockets, their homes, and family.”
Morris added that small landlords also need to be aware of their avenues for appeal. When hit by the property tax spike, their costs will be passed on to the renters, which would add to the number of New Orleanians who can no longer to afford to live in their neighborhoods.
When asked what policies she would like to see the city employ to help residents, Morris said the freezes should be retroactive. For example, if an 80-year-old man gets the age freeze this year, it should also be made retroactive for the previous years he was eligible, which would save him lot of money.
Morris cited LOOP (Long-term Owner Occupants Program) efforts in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia to stop gentrification by limiting assessment increases for longtime residents who meet certain economic criteria as another option that could be employed or expanded upon in New Orleans.
Requests to the City of New Orleans Communications Office for comment from the assessor’s office and the mayor’s office were not returned as of press time.
This article originally published in the August 19, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
