The City of Harrisonburg has reassessed all real property as they do each year, and it appears that there wasn't a significant (overall) shift in assessments.  Of the 12,000 parcels of real estate, nearly 8,700 had a change in their assessed value, with 3,100 of the values decreasing and roughly 5,600 increasing.  That is to say.....

• 26% of city properties decreased in assessed value
• 27% of city properties saw no change in assessed value
• 47% of city properties increased in assessed value

The median assessed value increased by $400, which equates to an annual increase of $2.36 in taxes.  Yes folks, that's a 20-cent increase per month.

If you don't believe your assessment is accurate, you can appeal the assessment starting the week of December 7th.  Or you can express your frustration (or delight) in the comment section below.

The bigger (MUCH BIGGER) news (or controversy) coming down the pike is the Rockingham County real estate reassessment coming in early 2010.  These assessed values haven't adjusted in four years, so many people will likely see big increases in their tax bills despite feeling that they have seen no gain (or a loss) in value over the most recent few years.  Stay tuned!