Rollback of assessments proves process is flawed

The Assessor's Office might as well just get in the "stunned response" line (referring to comments Daily Bee, Saturday, July 15). How about seniors and other residents on fixed or middling incomes who nearly fell over when opening their announcements? Long-time residents were wondering if they would have to move out of their homes.

This has been a difficult process for all concerned. Government employees did their best to handle angry folks' demands for answers and to field the flood of appeals paperwork that came in. Most of them found themselves between a rock and a hard place and a quagmire not of their making and totally out of their control.

It seems like the county commissioners made the right call. Lance Lane's concern regarding the cost of reissuing the new notices seems misplaced; where was the concern from the Assessor's Office that perhaps the whole assessment process was flawed and needed to be revisited?

In fact, as emotions escalated and a torrent of appeals started coming in, the Assessor's Office seemed to become more intransigent, digging in its heels to justify rationale and finger point. One can go a long way to diffuse a situation by saying, "Perhaps we need to reconsider this and we're currently reevaluating …" but unless I'm mistaken, we heard little if any conciliatory backtracking.

As long as the rollback decision sticks and there are no laws or regulations prohibiting volunteers from helping out in a government office, I would be happy to volunteer several hours toward helping get out the amended notices. I believe there are other residents who would be willing to do the same.

PAUL KRAMES

Sagle