The New Orleans City Council, sitting as the Board of Review, certified approximately $12,000,000 in reductions to assessed value for tax year 2026 after hearing appeals and approved final certification and minor typographical changes at a meeting called Oct. 9 at 9:30 a.m.

The action matters because the reductions reflect successful taxpayer appeals that lowered assessed values, and council members urged broader public outreach so more property owners know how to use the appeals process.

Scott Spivey, hearing program manager for Hammond and Gainer, presented the board with the year’s hearing results and recommended an overall reduction of 6.99 percent following the appeal process. Spivey told the council that appeals by district totaled: District A, 156; District B, 242; District C, 166; District D, 106; and District E, 52 (with 38 personal-property appeals). He also reported a fair-market-value change of $105,522,547 and said assessor-provided assessed values before the hearings totaled $5,606,896,970; the appeals resulted in a net assessed-value reduction of about $12,000,000 for tax year 2026.

Council President Morrell said the $12 million reduction is small compared with the assessor’s total roll — “$12,000,000 out of about $5 billion is truly a very small decrease,” he said — and that nonetheless the appeals process is worth pursuing by homeowners and property owners who believe their assessments are incorrect. Council members and the presenter emphasized that no-show hearings are administratively processed and that the assessor’s office provides options for those who need alternate arrangements for hearings, including phone or rescheduling.

Members of the council spent time discussing outreach and education. One council member said many homeowners do not know they can appeal and proposed including an explanation of the appeals process with the assessor’s notice to increase participation. Council members said they would work with the assessor’s office and outside partners to explore outreach options; that was discussed as an agreed follow-up rather than a formal, enacted directive.

Two formal actions were taken on the record. The council unanimously approved a resolution allowing typographical or other non-substantive changes to the record if needed, and then voted to certify the hearing results as presented by Spivey. The roll-call vote for both items was recorded as five yeas, no nays: Council President Morrell, Council Vice President Moreno, Council member Morales, Council member Green and Council member Thomas voted affirmatively. Council member Green moved to adjourn, Council member Moreno seconded, and the body adjourned by the same 5-0 vote.

The presenter and several council members encouraged property owners to pursue appeals when appropriate and to contact the assessor’s office for help. They also noted a statutory change in Louisiana law — cited in the briefing as Louisiana Revised Statutes §47:1989 — clarified limits on assessor adjustments during quadrennial years and affected processing of some appeals. The council’s comments and the certified reductions apply to tax year 2026; no budgetary or tax-rate changes were enacted during the meeting.

Documentation on the hearing process provided to the council states that hearing guidelines require presentation of recommended property values by the appellant or the assessor’s representative and that hearing decisions are made by the Board of Review; Spivey said every effort is made to provide options for attending hearings.

No public comment cards were recorded for this item on the day of the meeting, and no online comments were reported to the dais during the session. The council closed the Board of Review meeting after certification and adjournment.