Letter to the Editor

Published 11:12 am Thursday, July 23, 2009

By Staff
Here working to please you
I have received phone calls from some of our residents concerning the property tax increases, and I have been asked if the County Commission, in any way, regulates these increases.
The answer is ‘no.’ This is regulated by the Alabama Department of Revenue and they work closely with the Tax Assessors office.
The only role the Commission plays is to make sure the assessors office has the funds budgeted to operate accordingly.
Although some of our residents did not see an increase, several had a larger than normal increase and I felt that during these though economic times, that an explanation of these increases was in order.
I contacted the appraisal office concerning these questions and they assured me that they would be happy to explain the reason for the increase and to review your notice to ensure that a mistake was not made.
They also informed me, in order to save the residents any long distance phone charges you can call me with your name, number and a convenient time and they will contact you.
I will make certain your information is relayed to the appraisal office.
You may appeal within 30 days of your notice, so I encourage all of you who have questions concerning your notice to please make this contact as soon as possible.
I want to also take this opportunity to inform you that we are approximately two to three weeks away from completing our work on the Bell Creek Road paving project.
This is one of the two projects we have had in the last few months. It’s good to see these paving projects, but it has taken us away from our regular work orders.
I want to assure you that as soon as the work in complete on this second project, we will resume our work orders. Your patience and understanding is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
Brandon Smith
Escambia County Commission District 4
251-368-5985

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