People have three weeks to challenge their new property tax assessments in New Orleans. A community gathering Monday night showed that some locals are not happy that their neighborhoods are becoming more upscale due to development and improvements.
"We did the hard work, we made our neighborhood better... wow, are we being penalized now because now we have a better neighborhood?" one owner decried.
Another said her home's value more than doubled from last year to this year.
"They had it at $167,000 which was, you know, reasonable... now it is at $416,000."
The meeting highlighted a struggle many people across New Orleans are facing. Development across the city means homes are worth more, so taxes are skyrocketing.
It's a price many don't want to pay as property in their neighborhoods becomes more valuable.
"It is a tough situation," Assessor Errol Williams admits. "Over the past four years there have been substantial increases in values in each respective neighborhood."
He says that as we see development and homes get more valuable in a neighborhood, all of the houses in that area become worth more.
"What you are seeing is that people are buying neighborhood, renovating properties and selling for substantially more," the assessor explained. "We can't ignore that."
Not everyone agrees.
One woman at the meeting insisted, "Just because someone is building a home in my neighborhood doesn't mean that my taxes have to go up."
Another attendee said her neighborhood was seeing massive increases from home to home.
"100%, 200%, 300% increases."
The Louisiana Constitution requires the Assessor to review the value of all properties in a parish at least once every four years.
For many, they are getting their first reassessment since 2015.
New Orleans has seen significant development in a lot of areas in that time.