The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a lawsuit against the New Orleans tax assessor for allegedly lowering tax assessments for certain commercial properties during 2020, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed by the civil rights group and two New Orleans residents on March 26; it alleges that tax assessor Errol Williams violated Louisiana law by unfairly undervaluing a select group of properties, largely owned by wealthy corporations, at the expense of New Orleans residents.
“To maintain its budget, the city was forced to make up the difference by imposing at least 7% more in taxes on all tax-paying property owners during the 2021 assessment than it otherwise would have, all other things being equal,” the lawsuit states.
However, a spokesman from the Orleans Parish Assessor's Office, Devin Johnson, maintains that any changes in value to properties do not violate the current standards of the law.
"The assessor's office conducted extensive research on the impact of COVID-19 on both residential and commercial property values, as required by Louisiana Revised Statute 47.1978.1," Johnson told the Louisiana Record. "The research pointed to residential property values continuing to increase, while commercial values went down. These are both well-documented and reported facts. The assessor doesn't give special treatment or play politics with the way properties are valued. Data drives the assessment process."
Williams is joined by the head of the city's finance department and the Louisiana Tax Commission, who approved the reassessments, as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also maintains that a reviewing process should have been conducted before the reassessments were implemented. Additionally, it alleges that the reductions in commercial property value may have stopped the city from lowering taxes, causing homeowners to pay more than they should.