Last week when I received my property appraisal/valuation notice from the office of James P. Nix Jr., Baldwin County Revenue commissioner in Bay Minette, I was astonished, to put it mildly.

It was similar to a heart attack where you just can’t catch your breath. My 24-year-old townhome, nothing fancy, increased in property value by $32,500 in one year.

This increase is for the Oct. 1, 2005 through Sept. 30, 2006 tax year and also happens to be the year of (Hurricane) Katrina as you all well remember. The natural disaster where thousands of people were coming from Mississippi and Louisiana looking for places to buy, rent, live, etc.

Many people in Mobile and Baldwin counties decided this was the time to take advantage of these people, sell their property and make a huge profit because of supply and demand. Now the tax assessor is saying that all our properties are valued at what the others sold theirs for during this time and to those of us who didn’t sell, we are having to pay the price by paying higher taxes that are based on the inflated sales of that time period.

Is this legal? There are blue laws that prevent retailers from increasing prices during times of natural disasters so why is it that our local government can take advantage of residents during the same period of this natural disaster, by putting a false value on our property and requiring us to pay taxes based on that false value?

The following year, values went down significantly and in the current market people can’t sell their homes, home builders are going out of business and mortgage companies are foreclosing on properties left and right. My property has been on the market for a year but even at its highest price it was never priced at what the tax assessor’s office says it is worth and it has been decreased in price three times.

Now is the time we need to speak up to politicians to put pressure on the tax assessor’s office to amend the assessed values for a more fair value and not one that has been inflated during a natural disaster. And to those who are running for office who claim they stand for lower taxes, now is the time to speak up. I for one will appeal my assessed value and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Take a stand against unfair taxation.