Friday, June 1,
2001
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Hearings set on property tax 'increase' By JOHN
THOMPSON
South Fulton residents have a chance next week to voice their opinions on the county's property tax rate. Fulton County commissioners recently proposed a 2001 tax rate that is less than last year's rate, but according to the definition in state law, taxes are going up. That's because the value, for taxation purposes, of most county property has increased through reassessment, so that even though tax rates may be reduced, the amount of money residents pay is increased. The board approved 13.04 mills for the general fund, a reduction of .27 mills; .30 mills for the bond fund, a reduction of .08 mills; and 4.70 mills or the Special Services District fund, a reduction of .06 mills. A mill is one dollar per thousand dollars of a home's assessed value. Assessed value is 40 percent of the market value minus any exemptions. If the tentative millage rates are approved, this is considered a tax increase under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Fulton officials said that Georgia law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year's new digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had no reassessment occurred. Consequently, the 2001 millage rates would increase property taxes in the general fund by 3.6 percent over the rollback millage rate, and increase the SSD fund by 3.68 percent over the rollback millage rate. Citizens are invited to the public hearings, which will be in the Fulton County Government Center assembly hall, 141 Pryor St., S.W., Atlanta next Wednesday at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.; and Wednesday, June 20 at 10 a.m. Residents also can participate in the public hearings via video-conferencing. All three sessions will be video-conferenced from the South Service Center, 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park. Georgia law requires that three public hearings be conducted to allow the public opportunities to express opinions on the proposed increase in property taxes.
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