Tax assessments not grounded in reality

On Sept. 25, I attended a meeting for Hanover Township residents to get information on how to appeal our real estate taxes. A representative from the board was explaining how to compare similar properties to arrive at our assessed value. Mentioned was the fact that even though our neighbors had the same square footage as our home we could both be assessed differently because of the appearance of our homes. The county taxes us on a guesstimate of what our properties will sell for, not a fair and reliable formula for each property.

We would not expect to go to the grocery store and let the cashier charge us whatever she chooses to — why should we allow our taxing bodies to operate using this same mentality? Taxes are real, so let’s stop using an imaginary system.

Janet Prince

Hanover Park