Paul Hampel’s front-page article in your October 22nd edition should prompt exponential growth in the number of residential and commercial property owners outraged by the abuses of power that characterize the appeals process. Hampel deserves a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the discriminatory practices of St. Louis County Assessor Philip Muehlheausler and the Board of Equalization (BOE).

The State Tax Commission cannot, in good conscience, continue to grant “the presumption of correctness” to a BOE that grants a reduced valuation one million dollars in excess of the relief sought.

I wonder if, like myself, the owners of the high-end real estate mentioned in the article were limited to ten minutes in which to make their case or had their hearings conducted by BOE members who had not even read the material submitted with their appeals.

Barbara Vires
South County