AUGUSTA, Ga. () – It’s where those unhappy with their property reassessments head, the Tax Assessor’s Office to appeal.

“It was just this assessment that increased, and then you’re required to pay more in property taxes even though your property’s value has decreased due to the broader neighborhood. It just didn’t seem fair to me. I’m not sure what’s happening,” expressed Obadiah Baldwin.

The situation at hand is the reassessment of properties throughout Richmond County. While values generally rose, the increase wasn’t as significant as in the past two years.

“No, there wasn’t a major reevaluation this year. We observed about a three and a half percent increase in residential property,” stated Chief Tax Appraiser Scott Roundtree.

One difference this year in some cases is property values plummeted due to damage from Helene. In dozens of cases, there is just an empty lot where a house once stood.

“We did look at several thousand properties that were impacted by the hurricane and to the best of our abilities, if it affected the value, we gave reductions because of the damage that we saw,” said Roundtree.

But values are still increasing for many properties even with the hurricane, and owners are saying that should not be the case.

“The whole neighborhood is demolished, and I don’t think that it’s not the right time for that increase,” said Baldwin.

Property taxes are needed to help pay for government services. If values go way down, tax revenues would follow.

“The overall digest does have growth in it so I don’t expect that there will be any negative impacts what will have to be looked at, even with the hurricane,” said Roundtree.

Property owners are seeing lower values. That’s the price to pay for Helene.