We are told that the increases in assessments (some over 60 percent) will not necessarily mean tax increases. This insults our intelligence. The property revaluation in Potsdam may lower the tax rate but a lower rate on a higher home assessment still means paying more in taxes. A lower tax rate does NOT mean lower taxes. Taxpayers also know that census figures show people are leaving the area, houses are hard to sell, and the housing market has been flat for decades. If houses sell high in Potsdam it is because out-of-towners do not know they are paying way above the value of the home in this stagnant market.