Clayton County leaders are expected to vote next month on a fiscal year 2017 budget that is expected to be slightly smaller but contain no millage rate hike.
The proposed $181.16 million general fund is two percent lower than last year’s budget. The county also expects to collect about $87.6 million in property tax, which is the county’s chief source of revenue. That’s less than the $93 million collected in fiscal year 2016. The culprit: House Bill 399.
“Although residential property values have increased, we experienced a decrease in commercial values primarily as a result of HB 399 which eliminates assessment and taxation of the possessory interests of the concessionaires located at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport,” Chief Financial Officer Ramona Thurman Bivins said in her budget message to the county commission. “This reduction will result in a decrease in property tax revenues for FY 2017.”
The legislation cut Clayton’s tax digest by 3 percent or about $5.7 million.
The commission is expected to vote on the budget June 7.
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