The attorney who represents Boone County property owner Bill Chipman, seeks class-action certification for the lawsuit filed in Boone Circuit Court. If the court grants the class action, the attorney claims, all Boone County property taxpayers could join in the action.

Chipman, 70, said his five acres of property between Walton and Richwood skyrocketed from a previous assessment of $105,400 to $750,000 this year. He said he appealed the assessment and eventually got it back down to $105,000, but said he decided to file a lawsuit after discovering that the assessments of others in the county also had soared.

"It's all over the county, and I hope the lawsuit helps other people in the county," said Chipman. "I want that (PVA) office straightened out."

"There seemed to be so many irregularities that we thought it necessary that someone with authority be made aware of the situation. The board feels that someone ought to further investigate the property owner's concerns on how the assessments are processed in the Boone County office."

On July 28, the Kentucky attorney general's office ruled that the Boone County PVA office had violated the state's open records law when the office denied a request for policies, guidelines or directives the office used in assessing property.

The state attorney general's ruling came at the request of an attorney who represents several Boone County property owners that are unhappy about their assessments. The attorney and his clients are still evaluating material and have not decided whether to pursue litigation.

Property assessments are used to determine property taxes. The property tax rate in Boone County, Kentucky is 95 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.