Fulton County taxpayers are either in for a tax rate hike this year, or face the prospect of serious cuts to services from the county government, such as libraries, social services and arts centers.
The Fulton County Commission has put a countywide rate increase back on the table, five months after opting against it when it approved this year's $605 million budget. After hearing a dire financial report from County Manager Zachary Williams, the panel voted Wednesday to run newspaper ads in the coming weeks with a 2012 property tax rate of 10.791 mills, a 5 percent increase.
Such advertising is an initial step before the panel considers a tax rate adjustment and commissioners could decide on the matter next month. A hike would affect every property owner from Milton to Palmetto and it would be Fulton's first increase to the general fund rate in more than a decade.
Other large metro counties, faced with plummeting revenues since the real estate meltdown, have already taken the step. Gwinnett County raised its property tax rate two years ago by 21 percent, then slightly reduced it last year. Last year Cobb County raised its rate nearly 16 percent and DeKalb County raised its rate 26 percent.
Fulton's general fund pays for such services as courts, the jail, arts programs, health services, libraries and senior centers. The increase would translate to an extra $25 in tax on a $200,000 home with a homestead exemption and no year-to-year change in assessed value.
Tens of thousands of taxpayers, however, would take bigger hits because their properties' fair market values -- the key multiplier on tax bills -- have gone up. With the expiration of a state-mandated, three-year moratorium on raising assessments, the county raised values on more than 28,000 properties this year.
The value of Jim Burkhart's Alpharetta home increased by $40,400, up to $336,200. That already raised his county and city taxes by about $1,000 and the proposed new tax rate would mean an extra $50. Faced with higher taxes or service cuts, Burkhart said he'll take the cuts.
Williams' presentation Wednesday also raised the possibility of reducing library hours.
"I guess I'll just have to go to the library at an inconvenient time," Burkhart said. "I have a hard time believing the county is in as much trouble as they say they are."
Also at risk, according to the presentation, is funding for the arts, social services, Grady Memorial Hospital and drug and DUI courts, which have been credited with reducing the population of the county jail. No specifics were provided.
The problem stems from the tax digest shrinking more than was expected when the budget was approved. County documents say the higher tax rate would keep revenues at the same level as last year.
Williams told the commission that the new rate would generate $17 million, but that the county would still need to find $30 million more in cuts.
Several commissioners expressed reservations. Both countywide Commissioner Robb Pitts and north Fulton Commissioner Liz Hausmann voted against running the ads.
"I just don't think people can pay anymore," Hausmann said. "I think they're at their limit."
Tom Lowe, who represents north Atlanta and part of north Fulton, said he's "in a quandary."
"I think we've got to hear the people," Lowe said, "and what I'm hearing is, ‘We can't stand anymore now. Times are too tough for it.'"
The Fulton County Taxpayers Foundation will launch a campaign in opposition, Executive Director Barbara Payne said.
"They're really shooting themselves in the foot," Payne said, citing Northside legislators' plans to reduce the power of the county government and eventually split north Fulton into its own county. "They're not going to raise [the tax rate] without a fight."
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