Editor, Gazette-Journal:

To the readers of the Gazette, you might remember on the 4th of September I wrote a letter to the editor concerning the latest report by the Department of Commerce which, in part, stated that "all" housing within the United States was valued at what they were in 2003/2004.

I mentioned in my letter other communities throughout the country were admitting their assessments could not be higher than what the federal government was reporting, and were recalculating them. Since that time, the Gazette reported on taxable errors between Mathews and Gloucester, and the government report was now being used by lending institutions as their guide for lending. It has also been adopted by the insurance sector as a replacement values on homes. However, this is Gloucester’s response to my inquiry:

"Dear Mr. Adams,

You had asked a question about the validity of our reassessment in light of a study done by the federal government, and requested our c...