Anybody know much about property tax re-assessment?

With the dropping like a rock property values my new property tax assessment was way higher than my market value. I went to the assessors office and gave them a recent appraisal on my house and they said they will notify me of their decision. 45 minutes later I get a call at my office and they said the agreed with the appraisal and lowered my taxes right over the phone!! This seems completely unusual to me as they prepared me for a lengthy process and a hearing in front of a review board. I feel like I am missing something here?? Has this happened to anyone else? Is this normal procedure?