Good, you added the part about protesting. Many people I know just make a habit of always filing a protest - and very often, they have been rewarded for doing so.
Waving to you from near your much loved Turkey Shop. I'm catching up on old threads and saw your post. Today I protested my assessed value with much success. For some reason MCAD decided my house was worth about 18% more than the larger homes around me. It was practically painless -- they agreed with me, and one hour in their office will save me about $500 this year. With the new reductions on top of that I'm doing the happy dance.