The results of the 2010 Decatur Citizen Survey are included at the back of the 2010-2011 Decatur budget now posted online.   As always, I find this document to be the closest thing to a reality-check that we have to gauge overall Decatur opinion against the “survival of the loudest, most verbose and persuasive” of DM.

The breakdowns for the “policy questions” are among the most interesting.  Here’s the first one…

“In today’s current economic condition, it is the City’s goal to maintain the existing levels of service at current property tax rates.  If that is not possible, which of the following would you prefer?

• Maintain levels of service, increase tax rate up to one-half of a mill ($100 per year on a $400,000 property) – 45%
• Maintain levels of service, increase tax rate up to one mill ($200 per year on a $400,000 property) – 14%
• Maintain tax rate, decrease levels of service – 24%
• Decrease tax rate no matter how much it decreases levels of service – 17%

Two new multiple choice questions on Decatur’s Open City Hall website deal with tax levels and whether residents have the stomach for an increase.

The first question is similar to an unofficial poll I recently threw up on DM…

In today’s current economic condition, it is the City’s goal to maintain the existing levels of service at current property tax rates. If that is not possible, which of the following options would you prefer?

• Maintain tax rate, decrease levels of service
• Maintain levels of service, increase tax rate up to one-half of a mill ($100 per year on a $400,000 property)
• Maintain levels of service, increase tax rate up to one mill ($200 per year on a $400,000 property)
• Decrease tax rate no matter how much it decreases levels of service

The second has to do with a potential new bond referendum to renovate the Police Department, Fire Station 1 and Rec Center…

Read the rest of this entry »

An AJC article from late yesterday – recaping the Decatur School Board budget meeting on Tuesday – quotes one Decatur resident upset that the Board isn’t considering raising the millage rate (read: raising taxes) instead of furloughing teachers for three days in the coming school year.  In a comment last night, Karass agreed.

I’d like to get an unofficial read on this again, because when I asked at the end of 2008, 70% of those responding to a DM poll had some concern about tax levels in the city.  And things weren’t looking all that bad budget-wise at that point.

On October 13th, District 2 candidate Patti Garrett asserted that the city needed a more immediate solution to the “crushing burden” that city taxes can place on “some, especially our seniors on fixed incomes.”

Garrett writes that she applauds the city commission’s recent resolution to up the low-income senior homestead exemption from $30,000 to $50,000, but adds “that’s not good enough” and details the legal reasons why the earliest the city could provide any additional tax relief to Decatur residents would be in April 2011.

Garrett’s solution?

I propose something altogether different from the exemption approach. I call it the Assessment Ombudsman.

It works like this: The city would create a volunteer, appointed board, not unlike our other citizen boards, whose job would be to help applicable Decatur residents navigate the sometimes complex bureaucracy of the DeKalb County assessor’s office. These folks would provide expertise, advocacy and support, making it easier for seniors and others to appeal their assessments and, in turn, reduce their tax burden if warranted.

In effect, we’d be leveling the playing field for those unable or ill equipped to do so themselves. And we’d be doing it at no cost to our residents.

So, we all know the state of Georgia has no money, right?

And thanks to new House Bill 143, when the state has no money, it no longer has to pay local governments to fund the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grant.  How convenient!  So guess what?  Come on, just take a guess…

You got it! Say good-bye to that substantial HTRG reduction on your property tax bill!

However, unlike many metro governments that are just hoping to avoid total financial anarchy, Decatur’s reserve fund seems to be helping the city keep a clear head.  And instead of trying to figure out how much they’ll need to raise taxes during a recession, the Decatur city commission is talking about tax relief at tonight’s commission meeting.

According to a note (pages 25 to 27) from Asst. City Manager Andrea Arnold included with tonight’s city commission agenda, the commission recently asked city staff for options that can provide quick tax relief to residents, since the HTRG reduction won’t be on the second installment of our 2009 bill.  Arnold has come back to the commission this week with the determination that there is currently only one option available to provide immediate relief on the second installment of the 2009 tax bill.

This is the GS1 or low-income senior exemption that is available to resident homeowners that are 62 years of age or older and the household income does no exceed $25,000.  Currently eligible homeowners receive an exemption of $30,000 for City taxes and an exemption of $50,000 for school taxes.  The City Commission has the legal authority to increase this exemption up to $50,000.  Once the exemption is increased, it cannot be decreased.

Arnold recommends increasing the exemption to the full $50,000 for city taxes, which will reduce revenue available to the City by about $100,000.

Longer term Arnold notes that in future years if the commission wishes to increase the city’s homestead exemption they would need to go before the General Assembly and then face a voter referendum.  This means that the earliest an increased exemption could make it through all the red tape and onto your tax bill would be April 2011.  She also suggests the possibility of “creating a new homestead exemption through the General Assembly that would provide a temporary (i.e., one year) exemption if the household income drops below a certain threshold.”