Wednesday, July 23, 2003

To the Fayette County Board of Tax Assessors:

This is to appeal the proposed revaluation of the fair market value for my residential property [at Grady and Beauregard avenues]. I am shocked by the county's proposal to increase its assessment of my property's fair market value by $41,150, nearly a 30 percent increase over last year!

This is a great disincentive for incurring the extraordinary expense of restoring and maintaining an 1880s Victorian house in the Main Street area of Fayetteville. Evidently, the county no longer has regard for historical restoration and its contribution to the community's quality of life.

My wife and I have always considered that we have a public responsibility to maintain our historical property for the benefit of the community, at considerable expense, I might add.

For those of us also burdened by retirement, maintaining the quality of historical homes in the face of massive tax increases is an impossible task. No wonder so many historical homes have been lost to the bulldozer.

Have you really considered the legacy of your actions?

Robert A. Lester

Fayetteville