Fulton property owners oppose tax hike proposal

Fulton County resident Devin Barrington-Ward questioned how the Board of Commissioners could propose a millage rate hike when residents are struggling to afford the daily cost of living Provided by Fulton County Fulton County taxpayers resoundingly communicated the Board of Commissioners they cannot afford a property tax increase during millage rate hearings on July On a - vote by commissioners at their June meeting the millage rate proposal was set at mills That would raise an additional million in property tax revenue compared to what county finance staff proposed The millage rate staff proposed would raise an additional million in taxes and fund the budget the commissioners passed in February Residents claimed that inflation and high housing costs that make it too expensive to live in the county Do y all not understand a property tax increase when inflation is high as hell when interest rates are brutal when rent is through the roof when wages can t even keep up with the cost of groceries is absolutely crazy announced Devin Barrington-Ward a Fulton County resident and neighborhood organizer with the Black Futurists Group People are drained and instead of throwing us a lifeline you re looking for our wallets Sandy Springs City Council member Jody Reichel spoke to the commissioners as an elected official and as a property owner Instead of combing through the budget for savings you ve inquired residents to pay more of a burden Reichel disclosed You re telling seniors on fixed income young families scraping to get by and small businesses barely hanging on that they need to pay for your lack of restraint Related stories Fulton commissioners set tax rate ceiling higher than staff proposal Fulton Commission certainly approves millage rate South Fulton resident Amber Hawk reported her homeowners insurance has more than tripled this year A millage rate increase would raise costs even more That s going to make it virtually impossible for my family to stay here even with us working -plus hours a week It feels like you guys are trying to push us out of our locality Hawk commented Dorothy Harp a -year-old Atlanta resident lives on a fixed income She revealed property taxes should be abolished for seniors aged and up We do not need an increase in the millage rate that s going to knock the seniors like myself out of my home I ve been living in that house years and I m sick of paying the county property tax Harp mentioned Grove Park resident Mike Russell who wants the commission to do a full rollback on property taxes advised a story about a woman in the neighborhood who can t afford to get her plumbing fixed Another resident down the street from Russell s house lost power for days last summer after a tree fell on his house He didn t have the needed to fix it These people are just barely surviving Russell disclosed I somehow get the impression that maybe particular of you want to put these people out of their house so the developers can snatch them up for pennies on the dollar so they can go build better bigger houses Three-decade Fulton resident Patrick O Connor was one of the limited residents backing a millage rate increase but an increase far below the more than percent increase that commissioners have proposed He suggested the commission adopt a percent millage rate increase for and a percent increase in for updates in the justice system Brian Allen vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Fulton County spoke against the proposed millage rate increase He agreed with Commissioner Mo Ivory who noted taxes can t be lowered at the same time ruling body spending increases The matter is that she along with several of the rest of you has reached the wrong conclusion The key is not to increase taxes but rather to cut establishment spending Allen stated Barrington-Ward described research from Georgia Tech s School of General Procedures that displayed commercial properties in Atlanta are routinely assessed far below their region value That included Symphony Tower at Peachtree Street which sold for million in but was appraised at million for tax purposes Tax incentives of million to Microsoft for a facts center and million for an Elon Musk evidence center for X formerly Twitter upset residents who have learned of the proposed property tax increase There s no way that we re living in the same reality where you all have the money to give that away and tax incentives but then ask us for more money Barrington-Ward stated After Wednesday night s second community hearing and after the third constituents hearing on Aug the commissioners will vote on the final millage rate later that day The millage rate they adopt can be no more than the mills proposed though it can be lower The post Fulton property owners oppose tax hike proposal appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta