UPDATE: New appraisals are online HERE if you don’t want to wait for the snail mail version.

This is always a fun time of year.

The Decatur Minute blog reports that the DeKalb County Tax Assessor’s office will be mailing annual assessment notices to property owners starting today.

As previously reported, the DeKalb Tax Assessors office has stated that the total value of property in Decatur has gone up by 20% in the past year, with 30% of the increase credited to new property being added to the tax rolls and the remaining 70% credited to the reevaluation of current properties.

So, it’s fair to say that many folks in the Decatur city limits will see an increased assessment this year.

Since the DeKalb County website can be difficult to navigate, here’s a link to the Appeal Process webpage should require it.

Related: remember that both the City of Decatur and City Schools are considering a 1 mill decrease in the tax rate due to this big property value jump.

As for the budget for the coming year, the Decatur Minute reminds us…

Public hearings on the millage rate and budget are scheduled for Monday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m., Monday, June 8 at 6:00 p.m., and Monday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m. All hearings will be held at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street. The budget is available for review on Decaturga.com, at Decatur City Hall and at the Decatur Library.

Screenshot of the DeKalb County Property Appraisal website

Oh man…what delicious blog fodder!

If you thought a massive budget deficit and a drawn out fight over capital improvement funds that bleeds legal fees aren’t insulting enough, take a gander at DeKalb’s latest budget tourniquet!

You see, while you may have heard rumors about some sort of “slowdown” in the national housing market, DeKalb insists that things aren’t all that bad on the east side of Atlanta.  How did they come to this obscene conclusion?  Its the result of a “very detailed analysis” done by the assessor’s office.  So detailed, you or I wouldn’t even hope to understand it.  So please, stop embarrassing yourself by trying.

So, while zip codes like 30032 continue to watch their real estate values fall through the floor, DeKalb County politicians can rest easy that they won’t have to raise taxes on an already struggling population.

No difficult explanations or interventions on poor spending practices.  All that can’t be skipped, thanks to a “very detailed analysis.”