BELTON - When Deborah Goates received her appraisal notice in May, surprised would be an understatement for her reaction.

“I thought that it was outrageous, and I still feel like it was outrageous,” she said.

The Morgan’s Point house and two lots, which had previously been appraised for $121,051, had been valued at $181,428. Negotiations reduced the appraised value to $178,073 - about the same price Ms. Goates and her husband Eric Morgan paid for it one year ago.

With that Ms. Goates became one of 3,577 who protested an appraisal and one of 2,549 scheduled for a hearing before the Appraisal Review Board in Bell County. The board began hearing protests at the beginning of July and should finish hearings on Monday.

When Ms. Goates met with the board this week, they upheld the appraised value.

“Our charge by the constitution is to appraise at market value by Jan. 1,” Tax Appraisal District of Bell County Chief Appraiser Marvin Hahn said. “That’s why we analyze the sales of properties for 12 to 18 months. Properties that have sold are indicators of where we need to be.”

Those sales can adjust appraisals in neighborhoods, as well as the house that sold.

As for an almost $60,000 jump in value, Hahn said that can happen.

“It can if a neighborhood is that far below market value,” he said.

Ms. Goates said board members questioned her about paying $178,000 for a property that she now contends isn’t worth that much, but was a price she was willing to pay.

“I like the location, the privacy. I liked the house,” she said she told the board. “I bought it during a seller’s market.”

That market remained strong last year, according to Hahn. During 2006, about 5,000 properties were added in the county, bringing the total number of properties to about 155,000. Those properties increased the county’s overall value by about $1 billion, with future growth planned.

“We have a relatively large number of lots platted for future construction,” Hahn said.

Property countywide has an estimated tax value of $14 billion and an estimated assessed value of $13 billion; however totals will not become official until after the board finishes hearings and the district sets the tax roll. The district plans to send each of the 27 taxing entities their final numbers by July 25. In 2006, the district certified the tax roll at $13.1 billion, which was up from $11.6 billion in 2005.

The taxing entities - made up of the schools, cities, water districts and county - use the tax rolls to determine tax rates and budgets for the following fiscal year.

With the increase in Ms. Goates’ property value, she said she would pay more than $5,000 in taxes this year, which is up from $3,639 the year before. She said the taxes will cost her an additional $417 per month on top of her mortgage.

“I told them if you keep going up nobody will buy because they can’t afford it,” she said. “You can rent an apartment for that.”

She said there needs to be relief for property owners as the money must come from other parts of a budget to cover the taxes.

“We’re getting ripped off by the gas companies, ripped off by the electric companies, ripped off by the insurance companies and now we’re getting ripped off by the government,” she said.

jsicking@temple-telegram.com