Annexation revenue increase impact won’t be dramatic

In a rare joint meeting Wednesday between Decatur commissioners and the board of education, City Manager Peggy Merriss said she wasn’t expecting annexation to dramatically increase commercial revenue. Decatur’s current real property tax digest is 86 percent residential, 14 percent commercial, which Merriss says has remained about the same for 30 years.

Decatur’s proposing to annex property that’s 81 percent commercial, but Merriss admitted she isn’t yet certain what that means for the city overall.

“If we get [the overall commercial tax digest] up to 18 percent I’d be very happy,” she said. She added that the proposed DeKalb cities of Lakeside, Tucker and Briarcliff are considering a 30 percent commercial tax base as “economically viable.”