Cobb County taxpayers could see a slight reduction on their 2013 tax bills if county commissioners this month approve a planned decrease in the millage rate.
Commissioners are expected July 23 to approve a 0.2-mill decrease, which works out to a savings of about $14 on a $200,000 home or $38 on a $500,000 home. The move is part of Chairman Tim Lee’s promise to return taxes to the rates of 2010, the year before the county approved a controversial 15.7 percent increase to fill a budget gap. This will be the first decline since the increase was approved in 2011.
“We were forced to raise the millage because of the significant decline in the [tax] digest,” he said. “I made a promise as things improved I would roll back the millage to pre-recession levels over a five-year period and would accelerate that if need be.”
The county’s tax digest — the total taxable value of property in the county — is still expected to decrease slightly, but building-related fees are on the rise and the county has been able to save money through other cost-cutting measures, making the tax reduction sustainable, Lee said.
The decrease from 7.72 to 7.52 mills would be reflected on property tax bills mailed out Aug. 15 and due Oct. 15.
In November, the county approved a 3 percent pay raise for county employees, and Lee said if possible, he wants to give performance-based pay increases on an annual basis. Before last year’s increase, county employees had not received pay increases since 2008.
The pay raises irked some watchdog groups, who favored one-time bonuses over permanent increases. Lance Lamberton, the president of the Cobb Taxpayers Association, said he supports any decrease to the millage rate but thinks the county should be more aggressive.
“This is so small, it’s very disappointing,” Lamberton said. “I don’t think Cobb County government is doing enough to reduce the cost of operations. There is a different way of looking at what government services are provided. They need to look at what they’re doing and whether it is necessary.”
Lee’s plan is to reduce the general fund millage rate each year for the next five years until it’s returned to the 2010 rate of 6.82 mills.
Tax rates in some other metro counties are also expected to fluctuate this year. In Gwinnett County, residents who live in the unincorporated sections of the county, could see a tax hike of about $39 on a $160,000 home. Fulton County is proposing a net tax rate increase that could add about $75 a year to a $200,000 house, despite a state law capping the county’s property taxes.
In unincorporated DeKalb County, property tax rates are expected to remain steady.
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