Bartow County is covered with vacant residential building lots and empty storefronts, and the foreclosure section in the Daily Tribune looks more like an old Sears catalog it's so thick. Home prices here have taken a pounding.

So with very little new construction having taken place the past year, how did the value of "real & personal" property in the recently released county tax digest actually go up this time? In a nutshell, real & personal property includes homes, land, commercial and industrial properties, along with the value of machinery and inventory.

If the values of all properties in Bartow County were accurately reflected, the county would have devalued or reduced the appraised value of all homes, land and commercial properties by a minimum of 15% right off the top and some much more... and I mean every single piece of property.

Well it didn't, so I have a big question. Of all the homes, land and commercial buildings in Bartow County, what percentage had their appraised tax value reduced for 2009 and what was the average percentage of decrease?

Now Commissioner Clarence Brown and staff have done a good job of downsizing the county budget and avoiding a tax rate increase this year. However, our tax digest by law is supposed to accurately reflect the value of the properties in the county.

We all would like to think that we are being treated fairly and equally... two similar sized and constructed homes should have roughly the same tax value. If a home in your neighborhood has been foreclosed, guess what? The value of your home also dropped.

So when you receive your tax appraisal notice or your tax bill in a few weeks take a close look and compare it to last year's. If the value of your home or other property didn't go down at least 15% then you need to call the Tax Appraisers Office and ask why.