A furor erupted this week as hundreds of St. Tammany Parish residents scrambled to file last minute appeals on new property assessments, some surging as high as 160 percent.

But as the appeal deadline ended Thursday, those waiting in line had more beef than simply high values. House by house, neighborhood by neighborhood, the new home values seemed to spike at random, they said.

In Slidell for example, a home at 3819 Berkley St. was appraised for $211,860. Several homes away, a house of similar in size and stature at 3845 Berkley St. was appraised at $132,490, according to assessment records.

Hundreds of people lined up Thursday at the St. Tammany Parish Assessor'€™s office to contest 2008 property assessments. Earlier this week more than 30,000 homeowners out of 125,000 appraised had contested the skyrocketing values. (Staff Photo by Matthew Penix)

In Covington and Mandeville it’s the same story: street-by-street many fluctuations are huge. And with the parish taxing 170 mills, among the highest in the state, property taxes are skyrocketing.

“How did this happen?” Parish Council President Jerry Binder said. “Nobody knows. Nobody can figure it out. What it tells me is the assessments weren’t done properly.”

“Not only are the people upset about the tremendous increases, they’re also equally upset at the huge inconsistencies,” Binder said.

This week ten of thousands of parish residents echoed Binder. More than 30,000 residents — out of 125,000 homeowners assessed — filed appeals by Tuesday and some political insiders believe that number reached 40,000 or more by deadline Thursday.

The true number won’t likely be known until early next week when clerks for Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core said she would speak with the media. On Friday, Schwarz Core did not return repeated calls for interviews.

Previously however, she said her office would correct any mistakes.

On Thursday Pamela Cryer took that notion to heart.

Cryer, a St. Tammany Parish School Board employee, sat on a wooden bench outside the Assessor’s Office in Covington, patted her chest and said a silent prayer Thursday as she filled out appeal paperwork.

Cryer said her new assessment on her Villere Street home in Mandeville sent her property taxes soaring more than 700 percent overnight, from $453 to roughly $3,500.

“It’s a shame,” she said, as her three grandchildren jumped and climbed over her. “We’ve never had this problem before. It’s like you’re paying for your property and your house all over again.”

Cryer was just one of hundreds who lined up Thursday to file an appeal before deadline. Men and women in walkers and oxygen tubes shuffled forward in line. Young moms, clutching babies, bounced in place. Even court clerks and Sheriff’s office bailiffs who work in the Justice Center that houses the Assessor’s Office spent their lunch break waiting to appeal.

In the end, the wait wasn’t more than 15 to 20 minutes, many said.

“It’s amazing how smooth it went,” said John Preble, an Abita Springs man who filed an appeal. “I’ve never seen government run so efficiently. Now I just hope they accept my appeal.”

St. Tammany Parish Council may help. Under Louisiana law the council, in addition to the parish assessor, can also accept or deny an appeal when it convenes as a Board of Review at 7 p.m. Oct. 29. To hear a review by the council, appeals must be filed in person at council headquarters at Koop Drive off Louisiana Highway 59 or faxed to 985-898-2593 no later than 4:30 p.m. Tuesday Oct. 21.

Next week, the state Tax Commission will also send a team to St. Tammany to review the new tax rolls and assessments based on Core’s Jan. 1, 2007 valuation date, which includes transactions six months prior as well as six months after that date.

State law allows assessments to reflect up to 90 percent of fair market value defined as homes sold in a “reasonable amount of time,” during that time period. And Core uses a computer system to help generate appraisals considering those market values.

But some said that market information from 2007 was artificially inflated after Hurricane Katrina destroyed many homes, leaving those left standing selling for more than their worth.

Since then, home prices, on average, dipped 9.7 percent, St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation spokesman James Hartman said.

Still, some home values surged 160 percent, said Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville.

“An increase in property value at this time given the economic conditions which are prevailing is truly disheartening,” he said. “I urge you to take the time to add your voice to the rising protest against this injustice.”

Cryer did just that.

When she first heard of the property increase, “my chest starting thumping,” she said rubbing her chest, but offering a sly smile. “I almost had to go to the emergency room.”

Just then an assessor’s clerk offered her a reduction.

“Oh, I can go home and relax now,” she said smiling. “I can have a good night’s sleep.”