More homeowners appealing property taxes

NEW YORK, July 4 (UPI) -- More U.S. homeowners are appealing increased property tax bills or seeking reassessments as home values drop, officials say.

"These people are desperate," Gus Kramer, an assessor in Contra Costa County, Calif., told The New York Times. "They know their home's gone down in value."

Jacqueline Byers, research director for the National Association of Counties, said a recent study found 76 percent of large counties report budgetary woes due to declining property tax revenue.

The association said nearly 10 percent of large counties increased tax rates applied to home values.

But even with the tax increases, struggling local governments have had to lay off workers, cut services, renegotiate labor contracts and freeze salaries, the Times said.

Officials across the country say the number of appeals is skyrocketing.

In suburban Atlanta, thousands lined up to file requests for reassessments before a March 31 deadline. Appeals have increased five-fold in parts of Ohio. Tax lawyers in suburban New York report they're busier than ever.

And some towns are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees for cases in tax courts.