Debate brews as assessors plan hikes

By David Wickert

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Local tax assessors this spring will be allowed to raise property values for the first time in four years unless state lawmakers intervene.

Because home prices in a few metro Atlanta neighborhoods — including parts of north Fulton and DeKalb counties — have risen, so, too, should the values of some those homes for property tax purposes, assessors say.

That would mean higher property tax bills for those homeowners.

Given the state of metro Atlanta’s real estate market, few homes will see an increase. But some homeowners are objecting merely to the possibility of having county assessors raise property values.

“The [market] is sinking, sinking, sinking,” said Roswell resident Macon Lee. “At this point in time, I don’t think it would be fair.”

And a proliferation of bills in the General Assembly serves as yet another sign that property taxes remain a source of frustration for many Georgia residents.

Last year, a moratorium on increasing property values for property tax purposes expired. Rep. Ed Lindsey, R-Atlanta, wants to extend that moratorium. If that doesn’t work, he wants to cap increases at 3 percent a year.

But Lindsey, the House Majority Whip, said he doesn’t have the votes to do either right now.

The proposals are among the numerous property tax bills floating around the General Assembly. Others include a bill that would establish a state board to hear complaints about local tax appeals; another would prohibit governments from tacking solid waste and other fees onto property tax bills.

In recent years state lawmakers have tried to address the problem in several ways. In 2009, for instance, they prohibited county tax assessors from raising property values in most circumstances.

That moratorium expired last year. So this year, assessors can raise property values if they conclude the market justifies it.

Assessors say most property owners won’t see an increase because real estate prices generally are still falling.

“At least in DeKalb County, we have some isolated instances where values show some appreciation,” said DeKalb Chief Appraiser Calvin Hicks. “But they are in the minority.”

In Gwinnett County, Chief Appraiser Steve Pruitt said assessors would raise values only in cases where real estate sales data they use to set values justify such a move. He and other assessors said it’s too soon to know how many taxpayers would be affected.

The assessors object to caps on values imposed by lawmakers.

Hicks said such caps can shift the tax burden from those whose properties are appreciating to those whose properties are not. That’s because the owners of the appreciating properties aren’t paying their fair share of the overall tax burden if their values are capped, he said.

Lindsey doesn’t see it that way.

“It’s not up to those who tax to determine what is fair,” he said. “It’s up to those who are taxed.”

Lindsey isn’t the only lawmaker with plans to revamp property tax laws.

Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, is drafting legislation that would create a state property tax review board to hear complaints about local boards of assessors and boards of equalization.

And Rep. Brett Harrell, 
R-Snellville, has sponsored a bill to prohibit governments from assessing solid waste and other fees on property tax bills.

Unmatched coverage

In a groundbreaking 2009 series, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that many homeowners were paying too much in property taxes. We continued digging, and in December, our latest investigation determined that local assessors still hadn’t cut property values enough to keep up with the declining market.