What Goes Up, Doesn't Come Down

Property values tend to lag the fluctuations of the market. But in times like this it hits you hardest. Folks in Prior Lake are a bit ticked:

Cries of "unbelievable," "grossly overvalued," even "criminal" rang out in the boardroom of the Scott County Courthouse Tuesday night as homeowners fighting the tax values on their homes appealed to their elected representatives to overturn the judgments of their professional staff.

"There are 72 steps from the water to my cabin," said Charles Menking, of Prior Lake. "That's a lot of steps. I don't want the place. ... I want to sell it."

Fourteen people -- only a smidgen more than last year, but far more than in years past -- were listed on the agenda as taking appeals all the way to the county board.

Now I can appreciate their frustration, but there are folks working long hours and hobbling to their dinky apartments facing far greater issues then this, But the one comment that caught my eye was this one.

A matter of perspective

I wake at 0400, put on my uniform, body armor and don my weapon and off to work I go. The sand blasts me in the face, it's going to be another hot day reaching 130 degrees here in Iraq. All in all your problems aren't that bad.

So really, unless these same folks were at an assessor hearing demanding their values be increased when the market was bubbling, I am not very sympathetic to them if they are frustrated with the lagging decreases.

Flash