Would it be possible for the county to say that my paying the tax bill in the spring constituted approval of the assessment?

I am appealing my last property tax assessment which was way above the actual value of my property and the tax office says that the appeals board may not make a ruling on my appeal until August and I should go ahead and pay the spring portion of my taxes and the tax office will make an adjustment in the fall if necessary. I am concerned that the appeals' board will not adjust my assessment to bring it in line with the actual value (I got an appraisal), and I will have to go ahead and pay my spring tax statement which was raised a lot because the last tax assessment I have to go to court to fight the new assessment. I think there is a 5% penalty for not paying your taxes on time.