Support Constitutional Amendment #6

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Columnist

Orleans Assessor Erroll Williams has been on a lonely quest, to keep homeowners from losing their houses because of skyrocketing valuations—and the ever-increasing property taxes that come from them.

In many ways, the Orleans Parish Assessor has picked up the pro-homeowner mantle of Jefferson’s Lawrence Chehardy. Not surprisingly, the latter (now head of the Louisiana Tax Commission) stands as the only Assessor — current or former—supporting William’s brainchild, Constitutional Amendment #6. This measure on the November 8th ballot would put a cap of 10 percent per year increase in assessed taxable value (for property tax purposes) upon houses with homestead exemptions.

The other assessors believe that any form of property tax cap would cut into their own budgets, mostly funded through property taxes. So, members of the Louisiana Assessors Association have carried on a 15-year campaign to thwart every effort by Williams to cap property tax increases, and therefore property tax revenues.

Williams and his state legislative allies began almost two decades ago by attempt to legally cap assessment increases at double the rate of inflation for homeowners. Those proposals died repeatedly in committee. Two years ago, Williams and one of closest allies State Rep. Matthew Willard sought a state wide 10 percent per year cap, written into the La. Constitution. With similar absurd property increases tripling and quadrupling the value of homes in some of Louisiana’s larger parishes outside of Orleans (and the corresponding voter anger at these effective stealth tax increases), the Assessors Association knew that they had to concede something to Williams and his allies. Their solution was a constitutional amendment which would cap property assessments ONLY in Orleans Parish. In other words, they tried to set up CA #6 for failure, as the assessors knew that statewide ballot measures only benefiting Orleans Parish tend to be voted down.

Since the entire statewide electorate as well must enact constitutional amendment #6 for the people of New Orleans to win the right to cap property assessment increases at 10 percent, Williams has made a pledge that if the statewide electorate will support this effort for New Orleans, that not much time will pass before they will have the same protections afforded in their home parishes.

As he explained, “Some of the Assessors are saying that we’re having the same problems.”

Radical jumps in the value of homes have affected many parishes in Louisiana, but it remains fair to say Orleans has seen the most stunning increases in housing costs. Homes that were valued at $100,000 just 20 years ago now sell for over $800,000—or more. To put that in perspective, Williams explained that for every $100,000 in increase in a home’s assessed value, the owner owes another $1400 in property taxes in New Orleans. “That’s pricing a lot of people out of homes that families have owned for decades,” he explained. “And all I’m saying is that at least people see this train coming before it hits them.”

African-American homeowners are often the greatest affected, as neighborhoods gentrify. Affluent home-purchasers from outside of the city, and often outside of the state, have driven up property values in the pursuit of living in historic neighborhoods in an urban environment. That’s a good thing if one sells, but attempting to hold on to a family home whilst earning a working class salary (in many parts of New Orleans) has become impossible. Property taxes can exceed $10,000 per year on homes which were paying less than a $1000 only two decades ago.

Irate taxpayers call his office in condemnation after each new reassessment, yet Erroll Williams can currently do little to help —as his authority remains hamstrung by state law.

And time is ticking. The last major reassessment was in 2019. Louisiana is due for another one in the next 18 months. Without constitutional protections for Orleans Parish homeowners, limiting increases to at least no more than 40 percent for tax purposes over a four-year period, Williams fears that many more families will be chased out of their homes due to spiraling tax bills.

The question remains, will voters across the state reward New Orleans on the hope that they will receive the same protections in time?

This article originally published in the September 26, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.