It seems the unthinking folks down at the city of Auburn haven’t learned anything since the last time they did an intrusive assessment and had my elderly parents crying to me in a panic because “some stranger was looking through their closets.”

Karen Scammon, the city’s tax assessor, insists “we need an accurate assessment,” but truth be told, from the very moment of assessment until the next second, the assessment is inaccurate because of constant fluctuations in market values and constant deterioration of the home.

Most progressive municipalities simply rely on satellite photos to make determinations of the external condition of the property and then value at 80%, because they recognize the folly of accuracy and evaluation.

If Karen Scammon thinks it is OK to have strangers walking through her house and looking in her closets, maybe we should start with an examination of the hard drives, file cabinets, purses and wallets of all the city employees … OK, a bit extreme, but I hope the city gets the point.

At a minimum this intrusive process is a gross violation of people’s privacy.

Alan Whitman, Auburn