DAUPHIN ISLAND — More than 200 property owners here have filed appeals with Mobile County this week, claiming that tax officials overestimated their homes’ values and overcharged them on property taxes, according to officials with the county and with the town’s property owners group.
Some property owners claim the Mobile County Revenue Commission’s estimate of their property’s fair market value increased more than 350 percent in a single year.
Mobile County Revenue Commissioner Marilyn Wood said this year’s tax bills, sent out countywide July 16, were based on values in October 2006. Her office used standards set by the Alabama Department of Revenue, she said. County property owners had until Thursday, July 26, to file appeals.
According to a search of island property records over the past two years, sales on Dauphin Island are down 72 percent from 2005 and down 31 percent from last year.
By Russ Henderson, Alabama Live
