“Criminal Minds” – a new TV show, yes, but also a perfect description of the people in the tax and assessing office in Auburn.

It is clear that the people who did the revaluation of properties in Auburn did not do their homework, what with all the mistakes made on what property owners actually had and were taxed on. With the grossly inflated values on Auburn residences, assessors also showed that they didn’t have the knowledge to assess properties. What they did should be considered a criminal exploitation of Auburn property owners.

Property owners do have the option of meeting with the assessors. Some minor adjustments might be made, but the total assessed value will still remain higher than the true value on today’s market

The interest rates are going up on home mortgage loans. The bottom is falling out of the real estate market. Potential home buyers will be priced out of the Auburn real estate market. If a homeowner is determined to get out of Auburn, he or she will probably find it difficult to find a buyer. The higher market value plus higher taxes make the monthly mortgage payment prohibitive to many potential buyers, especially when they can travel a couple of miles in any direction from Auburn and find a better home for less money.

I do hope that the Auburn property owners can organize and make the city of Auburn accountable for its criminal acts of exploiting property owners in Auburn.

Kenneth Lord, Auburn