Pulaski Co. Assessor's Office to release property value notices

"What we have to use, by law, is the sales in that area to determine the price," Ward said. "If your home was $100,000 in 2009, and the new appraised or assessed value would bring it to an appraised value of $200,000. We can only raise it five percent a year because of the Amendment 79 tax relief. So you would only be taxed on $115,000."

As Pulaski County prepares to release these notices pertaining to property values, THV spoke with two residents who had mixed reactions.

Among those county residents: Mike Coulson.

"I have no problem. It's what they're paid to do. The County Assessor's Office is supposed to do is keep the property values current and make sure people pay their fair taxes," Coulson said.

Gary Cheatham used to live in Pulaski County and is planning to move back.

He said the appraisal process is a good idea, theoretically, if it's done fairly.

"They need revenue, just like people need more money. So what they do is they stack the deck in terms of how they come up with that value. And the assessments don't go down. Everyone knows there is a significant depreciation in home values, so the logic of that is, the value should go down," Cheatham said. 

An appeals process is one option for residents who disagree with the appraisal.

First they can go to the Assessor's Office, and then if there is still no agreement, they can go to the Board of Equalization.

"We go to the board with the taxpayer. The board is on one side of the table, the taxpayer and us on the other. We sit down and say to the board, 'Here's what we've got. Here's what they brought, now help us with the equalization,'" Ward added.