The town is reassessing everyone’s homes for tax purposes, and I suspect an algorithm computed that my property’s value doubled in the last two years. Except it hasn’t; it probably increased somewhere between 6 and 12%.
After 3 visits, 5 phone calls, and 7 emails, through the most convoluted way possible, I finally learned the only way to fight the tax assessment is to purchase a real estate appraisal.
At the end of a very reassuring preliminary call, the appraiser said, “I’m so sorry you have to deal with all of this.” Rarely do people apologize or even sympathize in a professional setting; especially for something they did not do. But, with those words, I knew I was in good hands because she understood what I was dealing with by acknowledging all the hoops I had already been jumping through.
So many members are in pain right now. The pain of juggling remote schooling while working. The pain of working from home when they’d rather be in the office. The pain of being in the office when they would rather be safe at home. The pain of technology not working. The pain of isolation. The pain of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. The pain of being afraid. The pain of less money, fewer resources, and less time. The pain of drudgery.
Associations didn’t cause this pain. But we can say we are sorry, we can empathize, and we can take a moment to connect with their unique situation.
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