So throw this recent development at the Georgia Capitol today onto the discussion pile as we begin debating the merits of a Decatur tax increase to build more school infrastructure.

The AJC reports that the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill this morning that will increase the sales tax in DeKalb County to 8%, matching Fulton County’s current rate.  The tax would raise about $100 million a year for capital improvements around the County.

But that’s not all — the legislation would also use the EXISTING 1 penny sales tax to reduce county residents’ property taxes.

How much money are we talking here?  Well, luckily Rep. Mike Jacobs used Decatur in his hypothetical example…

For example, property taxes would decrease by $625 on a $300,000 home in Decatur, Jacobs said. On a $500,000 Decatur home, property taxes would drop $1,065.

So, it seems like if this bill were to pass, it would more than offset the increase Decatur residents would see if they approved a $82 million GO Bond for the school system.  Tax increase estimates for the GO Bond have been estimated in the range of $667 – $864 on a $500,000 home, depending on the amortization period.

The bill now advances to the Georgia Senate for consideration.

Photo: Georgia Capitol by Connor.carey at via Wikimedia Commons

The AJC reports that DeKalb’s city mayors will attend a county budget meeting on Tuesday that will attempt to explain…

…Why DeKalb adjusted property tax rates for services like police, parks, roads and fire protection that cities can pay the county for or provide themselves, but not for those same services in the unincorporated area.

According to the article, Decatur residents saw an 11% increase in the specialized police services (K9, SWAT, etc…) that we still pay for, while County residents saw no increase in cost for those same services.  Meanwhile, Chamblee’s police rate went up 18%, and Dunwoody – who opts out of DeKalb Police entirely, saw an overall increase of 15%.

That’s a big ol’ chunk o’ change!

The AJC reports that in a 4-3 decision, DeKalb will raise taxes 26% in the coming fiscal year.   According to the news org, that’s roughly a $450 increase on a $300,000 house that’s retained its value in unincorporated DeKalb.

State Rep. Mike Jacobs is calling out DeKalb County for the property reassessment notices that just went out…

They’re at it again.

The DeKalb County Tax Assessors have sent out reassessment notices. Having received one this year, and having heard from many of my constituents who have received one, it appears that there is a common thread in this year’s crop of reassessments.

The common thread is that, if you filed a Form PT-50R Georgia Real Property Tax Return (click for an article that I previously wrote on how to file this form), the tax assessors included the amount that you provided on your Property Tax Return as the “previous year’s value” for the bygone 2009 tax year. Then, the assessors increased that amount to what had been your 2009 assessment amount, telling you that the old 2009 amount would be the “current year’s value” for the 2010 tax year.

More from Jacobs on what you should do if you received one of these reassessment notice HERE.

h/t: Decatur Tax Blog

The common thread through the two of the three AJC articles on last night’s DeKalb County Commission meeting?  No new taxes!

Though MARTA is a stated top goal for the commission this year, and they support the proposed 10-county penny tax for the struggling public transportation system, they can’t currently get behind the bill because it asks Fulton and DeKalb to put up a second penny in sales tax.

CEO Burrell Ellis explains…

“We’ve got other pressing needs in our infrastructure and don’t want to be saddled with another penny,” Ellis told legislators.

That money is needed for roads, public safety, parks and other county services, he said.

And if the state were to impose the extra penny, commissioners stated they were ready to ask for a referendum to rescind the current penny tax.

Read the rest of this entry »

“$250?!  I’ll extricate myself thank you very much.  Uh…could you give me a hand?”

From the AJC…

The county has adopted a $250 fee for anyone who must be cut from a crash by the county’s Fire Rescue Department. The service had been free.

The county projects making $750,000 on this new fee, which means it’s projecting around 3,000 nasty car wrecks next year.

DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis revealed his 2010 budget yesterday, which proposes an 11% increase in property taxes and cutting nearly 760 jobs.  From the AJC…

Ellis would reduce the spending side of the ledger by about $30 million. He wants do this by eliminating 360 ghost jobs that have been unfilled but remain on the books; and by offering early retirement. His budget is predicated on 400 employees taking the offer.  The proposal would allow staff to retire without penalty before the minimum age of 50 if they have worked at least 25 years for the county.

“We have no choice but to have a reduction in our work force,” Ellis said.

The Decatur/DeKalb tax gap continues to close.