To the Editor:

I would like to comment on the recent editorial by The Tidewater News (“Assessments off base,” Jan. 20) regarding the increase in real estate taxes.

I totally agree with the writer that values cannot be 4.9 percent higher than they were during the last assessment. When I went to appeal my assessment, the gentleman who interviewed me asked me why I thought my home and lot being in the flood plain should affect the value.

If these people who work for Wingate are “experienced” in real estate and its values, then they should know that a home and lot in the flood plain would not be worth the same as homes around it.

I did not purchase my lot knowing it was in the flood plain, but that is another story.

My home doesn’t even appraise for what it is assessed at, but the board of assessors says that it can’t base assessments on appraisals? Aren’t both based on fair-market value?

I feel that the Board of Supervisors should question Wingate regarding its policies and procedures. I cannot find any reference in the Code of Virginia that states foreclosed homes are to be excluded from assessments. I urge the board to research and question this recent assessment.

Winston Johnson
Courtland