Council Acts As Review Board

Council Acts As Review Board

BOBBY ARDOIN

St. Landry Now.com Editor

St. Landry Parish Council members received a lesson in determining property values and filing complaints on Wednesday night as they again voted unanimously to become an annual parishwide Review Board for the Assessor’s Office.

Deputy Assessor Janice Robin told the Council during a special meeting that individuals or businesses who are dissatisfied with their assessed property values can file an appeal and then launch their protests before the Council.

If Council members feel the complaints presented before them are justified, they can vote to pass the matter on to the St. Landry Parish Tax Commission which determines whether the complaints are ultimately valid, Robin said.

Robin said however that disagreements over property assessments have historically been rare.

Each year, Robin said, the Assessor’s Office establishes an Open Book period in which property owners can visit the Courthouse Office in order to review their assessed values.

That four-week period for 2025 began Aug. 29 and ended Sept. 17, Robin added.

Robin pointed out that the Assessor’s Office has recently had fewer questions concerning property values, since the information is now posted online.

There was one instance when a person disputed a property value, Robin said, but the complaint procedure was not handled properly, so the appeal was dismissed by the Council.

Robin noted that normally most questions about assessments have come from businesses rather than individuals.

Council member Mildred Thierry said the presentation from Robin helped clarify the procedure for the Council.

“So, if I have property I can protest (the assessment) and file an appeal. If the Council agrees with my protest, then it will then go to the Tax Commission,” Thierry said.

Robin told Faltery Jolivette, another Council member, that assessments are based on a number of factors, such as the amount of property sales in areas where a property is located in addition to the prices of adjacent properties or the assessed amounts of properties lnearby.

Occasionally Robin told Council member Wayne Ardoin, that the Assessor’s Office will send out teams that will visually review properties in order to make more accurate value determinations.