The assessment on my house went down again this year. Yet I would wager taxes will increase. I believe one of the main reasons for declining values in certain parts of the city is the inability of the current Police Department to deal effectively with the increase in crime. The way crime is measured is a joke, it is actually much higher than it appears. Instead to dealing with it on the offense, they wait and deal with it after the seeds of it are deeply rooted. By that time it is too late.