LAST WEEK: ARE FAYETTE COUNTY PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS TOO HIGH?

Like their neighbors in Fulton County, some residents of Fayette County are also unhappy about their property tax assessments this year. The number of appeals (which had to be filed by June 22) in Fayette nearly doubled this year from last, with the county receiving 2,338 appeals out of about 43,000 assessments. The appeals process goes through several levels, up to a Superior Court hearing. Here’s what some readers had to say:

Property taxes are essential, but wasteful spending of our taxes on pet projects rather than needed infrastructure repairs are what has most of us upset on the current rise. Our commissioners do a fairly good job of controlling costs, but sometimes directing money in unnecessary directions rather than where it should go. With over 73 percent of property tax dollars going to the school board, we’ve seen massive waste over the years, from building new schools when not needed, then selling them at a massive loss, to purchasing property all over the county and not being used ... We’re not happy with the increases and will be filing an appeal. — Larry Blanks

The taxes are probably not too high. The problem is the big jump,

however. And why shouldn’t they have to show you an actual appraisal and comps for your home? It isn’t fair for the burden of proof to be on the homeowner. — Sherry Moss My home was assessed at about $100 per square foot in 20142016. My new assessment for 2017 is an increase of 68 percent to $168 per foot. There is absolutely no data to support an increase beyond $105 per square foot based on actual home sales within 200 yards of my home. My home will not sell for its county-assessed valuation, while other much larger homes in my subdivision are selling for significantly less. I have appealed and am prepared to go to the Superior Court if my intervening appeals are denied.

I am at a loss to explain the mechanism by which a home, with no improvements other than the trees in our yard grew a little higher, can go up 68 percent and someone in the Assessors Office thinks that’s defensible. It isn’t. — Pete Rector I did (appeal) the first time it happened because they assessed it at about $50,000 higher than what we bought it for, which for us was a big deal because we were extremely careful when buying a house to make sure that we could afford it! Every year it keeps shooting up, too. I didn’t appeal the past couple of years, mostly because it was a nuisance and I was busy ... — Sarah Smith