As a long-term volunteer with Atlanta Legal Aid, I know that it’s often necessary to act fast on our clients’ cases. So when I received an email on a Thursday from Cari Hipp, manager of Legal Aid’s Tax Appeal Project, I was ready to act.
The client, “Mary,” is a 71-year-old grandmother who lives by herself in a home that was built in the 1950s. Mary called Atlanta Legal Aid because, when she reviewed her 2018 property taxes, she realized the county had increased her property taxes by approximately 3.5 times from the prior year. The county had assessed her property at a value of $81,300, and Mary, who lives on a fixed income, was unable to pay the increased property taxes. Thanks to a letter she received from Atlanta Legal Aid, she knew that she could file an appeal of her purported property value.
