Sterbcow, a 30-year veteran, had been president of Latter & Blum since 1995 and is considered an expert about New Orleans real estate. Latter & Blum is the largest commercial and residential real estate company in the Bayou City.
The article says the trouble started when broker price options provided by Sterbcow showed a 14% gap between actual home sale prices and Jefferson Parish assessments made by assessor Lawrence E. Chehardy. The article notes that Chehardy is also viewed as the state's most powerful assessor, as he oversees the tax rolls in the state's most populous parish.
But Sterbcow, who confirms in the article that he is no longer president of the company and wishes everyone there well, says he had no regrets when it came to accuracy in assessments. "I feel very proud about my efforts, and am very proud to have helped the Times-Picayune. The message from my agents was to try to fix the situation," he told the Times-Picayune.
The Times-Picayune goes on to say that Latter & Blum chairman and CEO Bob Merrick sent an e-mail to the company's staff, stating it was with "great personal sadness" that Sterbcow was terminated. In his e-mail, Merrick acknowledged that he's in the "process of mending fences" with the assessor's office.
Read more about the story here.
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