AJC > NorthSide > Blog > Archives > 2006 > November > 01
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Is your water bill through the roof?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Life in the land of manicured lawns has just gotten a little pricier, as some Forsyth County residents are discovering.
Forsyth and 15 other counties in metro Atlanta are under a deadline to start imposing water rates that are toughest on the biggest users.
An $800 monthly water bill sent to Alissa Shreeve of Cumming is being investigated. Her bill is typically about $22.
Established to manage water and wastewater needs in metro Atlanta, the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District requires that water providers adopt a rate plan this year that charges customers more for using large volumes of water.
Forsyth County initially wanted to have the rates in place before outdoor watering reached its peak this summer but was delayed by technical problems with its billing.
In recent weeks, when bills with the higher rates for big-volume users started hitting mailboxes, the county’s phones started ringing and terse e-mails began flying.
Bills were a few pennies cheaper for residents who use 6,000 gallons or less a month. But those who pour tens of thousands of gallons of water into their lawns saw double and triple-digit increases.
Some residents had “a bit of cardiac shock,” said County Commissioner Charles Laughinghouse.
Has your water bill increased? Share your story or your comments on the rate structure. Have water rates made you change any of your water habits?
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Will tax promise hold in the new cities?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Supporters of the new cities of Johns Creek and Milton promised residents their city taxes would be at the same level they’re paying now in unincorporated Fulton County.
But the tax freeze approved by the Legislature has a loophole that could lead to higher taxes for some.
The good news? It’s unlikely that the city portion of your tax bill will go up.
It seems that when the state Legislature approved a cap on the property tax rate at 4.731 mills, the current Fulton County rate for unincorporated areas, it did not include rules to keep taxes from rising if the taxable value, or assessed value, of the property increases.
City and state officials say the loophole is easily remedied. (Read the story by Doug Nurse)
But that hasn’t stopped some candidates for City Council in Johns Creek and Milton from trying to make an issue of it. Some city council candidates, Eddie Moore in Milton and Karen Richardson in Johns Creek, have promised to protect voters from such “back-door” tax increases.
State Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), who sponsored the bill creating Milton, fired off a blistering email to Moore, saying,
“Your glossy 8 1/2 X 13 inch mail piece asks: “Will you receive a surprise in your next property tax bill?” The answer is no, if you mean a property tax increase of any significance next year as suggested by the gaping-mouthed residents viewing a property tax bill in your piece. Did you or Karen or your shared campaign consultant, Todd Rehm, bother to calculate the “present?” How about if I share with you the results of simple calculations?
“How about less than $14 after-tax net savings for a $500,000 home as compared to the $33 after-tax net savings because of the more significant property tax rate cap that Rep. Burkhalter and I included in the legislation after two years of extensive work? Did you realize that the three new Fulton cities are the first in Georgia to offer property tax rate protection? “
Jones and Rep. Mark Burkhalter have promised a referendum giving voters the option of adding a city homestead exemption identical to the one in place in unincorporated Fulton.
Mike Bodker says the cities could also have the option of rolling back the millage to make the higher assessments revenue neutral.
What do you think? Should the homestead exemption be approved? Or should the millage be rolled back? Should the changes be permanent? Should voters have the option of repealing the freeze?
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