“Candidates oppose Gwinnett property tax shift” plus 1 more |
| Candidates oppose Gwinnett property tax shift Posted: 04 Mar 2011 09:32 AM PST The Atlanta Journal-Constitution The four candidates for chairman of the Gwinnett County Commission oppose a plan to use an expiring property tax levy to help balance the county general fund budget. On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously approved a resolution supporting the property tax shift to help close a deficit in the county's general fund, though they must follow through with a formal vote later this year. Though the county tax rate won't rise under the commission's plan, it would be reduced by .23 mills if the levy were allowed to expire as scheduled next year. The levy in question has been used to pay off general obligation bonds that voters approved in 1986. Gwinnett used the bonds to pay for various library and road construction projects. In January the county used $8.8 million in proceeds from a 2009 property tax increase to pay off the bonds. At a forum Thursday night the candidates said Gwinnett should allow the levy to expire and let the tax rate fall. "It would be dishonest government to shift .23 mills from bond payments to general operating funds," said candidate Will Costa of Lilburn. Using the levy would generate $4.8 million for the general fund this year. That and other budget-balancing measures have reduced an $18 million general fund deficit to about $2.6 million. Commissioners are expected to take further action to eliminate the deficit later this month. County officials say reallocating the levy to the general fund does not constitute a tax increase. The county's total property tax rate would remain at 13.25 mills if commissioners approve the levy reallocation. "To me, this is the sensible thing to do," Commissioner Mike Beaudreau said Tuesday. Mike Levengood, co-chairman of the Engage Gwinnett citizen panel that reviewed the county budget last year, said other counties also have shifted property tax levies after paying off bonds. Cobb County, for example, shifted millage from debt service to its general fund in 2002 and 2003. "It doesn't bother me at all that they are managing to keep the tax burden the same by paying off those bonds early," Levengood said. "There isn't a tax increase at the end of the day." But the commission chairman candidates -- Costa, Larry Gause of the Tucker section of Gwinnett, Gerald Duane Kissel of Snellville and Charlotte Nash of Dacula -- said the .23-mill levy should be allowed to expire. "That millage was designated for a specific purpose," Nash said. "That millage rate needs to be allowed to lapse." If commissioners allowed the .23-mill levy to expire as scheduled next year, the property tax bill on a $200,000 house would fall by about $16. Commissioners are expected to take a final vote on the proposed levy reallocation when they set the 2011 millage rate this summer or fall. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Chatham property tax refunds increase five-fold following appeals Posted: 03 Mar 2011 09:28 PM PST A keen eye saved Chatham Towing Company almost $49,000 in property taxes last year. The business got a refund check for that amount after notifying the Chatham County Assessors Office it had overvalued some barges because of an assessment error, said Frank Brown, vice president of finance. "For whatever reason, when we got the billing, they had not done the depreciation," Brown said. Such assessment errors combined with successful appeals contributed to an increase in Chatham County property tax refunds of more than $4.5 million last year. The bulk of that increase - $3.3 million - came from personal property tax refunds, which were 14 times the 2009 amount. The increase occurred even though there were fewer appeals last year, when a majority of property values decreased, said Maryellen Burner, interim chief appraiser. A variety of factors such as a new state mandate requiring the inclusion of foreclosures during the assessment process played a part, Burner said. The board of equalization, a body of residents that hears appeals, is also being more sympathetic to property owners during these tough economic times, Burner said. "The (board of equalization) is looking at the individual appeals whereas we are looking at entire neighborhoods," she said. Growing reductions Bobby Hardman said the facts, not necessarily sympathy, came into play during his own appeal last year. After presenting his case, the board of equalization simply found the value set by the county was too high, Hardman said. The board knocked it down by about $68,000. "The reduction reflects the economy," he said. "I think they were just doing the job they had volunteered to do." That $68,000 reduction actually followed a value decrease the board of assessors agreed to make before his appeal went before the equalization board. Assessors were initially going to drop his home's value from $290,000 to about $227,000, but Hardman was not satisfied. "It still seemed awfully high," he said. The value of the home ended up set at $159,000, with the equalization board's decision. Larry Collingwood also found similar success when he appealed the $351,000 value of a vacant lot he purchased in 2009. "It took about 10 seconds for the board to put a $252,000 value on it, which is what I paid for it," Collingwood said. The condition of the market has strengthened the case for value reductions during appeals, said Lucy Groover, market researcher for the Johnnie Ganem Appraisal Company. Only a handful of the 300-plus property owners she represented last year did not receive reductions, Groover said. And the size of the reductions has been growing. In the past, homeowners typically received reductions of $10,000 to $25,000, Groover said. Now it could be as high as $100,000. "It's not uncommon," she said. Equalization board reductions of real property last year ranged from less than $1,000 up to almost $12 million. The latter amount is one of a number of adjustments granted by the board to International Paper that add up to a $37 million decrease in real property value. Personal property value reductions ranged from less than $2,000 up to an $11 million reduction granted Arizona Chemical Company. Groover, a former assessors office employee, sympathized with their task of correctly assessing property values. The legislative changes and declining market as well as limited resources make assessing the entire county a daunting task, Groover said. "I don't think they are intentionally doing anything wrong," she said. "Truthfully, I think they are overwhelmed with what is out there." Superior Court appeals The board of equalization board only played a part in the amount of refunds. Cases heard outside of the equalization board in arbitration hearings or in Superior Court also played a substantial role. A subsidiary of Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. received a refund of $220,356 outside of the equalization board. That refund stemmed from the county's over valuation of a flight-test aircraft that could not be sold or used by a customer, said Gulfstream spokesperson Heidi Fedak in an e-mail. After appealing the board of equalization's findings, the assessors board ultimately settled before the case was presented to Superior Court, Fedak said. International Paper also received a sizeable refund of $217,679 in personal property taxes as a result of a Superior Court hearing, according to the assessors office. Those are examples of some of the larger refunds, and most were much lower amounts. But, with more than 2,800 tax reductions last year, those smaller amounts can add up, said Debbie Brannen, assistant chief deputy tax commissioner. Those reductions, which applied not only to county taxes but also those collected for other government agencies such as the city of Tybee Island and the Savannah-Chatham school system, totaled about $9.7 million last year. County cuts coming Not all tax reductions go back to the property owner as a refund. When appeals are filed, property taxes are based on 85 percent of the assessors office's value or the most recently returned value submitted by the property owner, whichever is higher. A refund can follow if the county assessors value ends up being reduced to a point where the property owners still paid too much. The difference can also be applied to other bills owed by the taxpayer. That was the case with the chemical company Tronox, which received a $128,830 value adjustment last year, but was refunded $162. The refunds mean the property tax revenue the county had counted on for this budget year could come up short. As a result, some budget adjustments may be in store, said County Manager Russ Abolt. In addition to dealing with this year's revenue shortfall, the county is in the middle of preparing for additional decreases in property tax revenue in 2012. All department heads have been asked to cut their budgets by 5 percent compared to this year's levels to prepare for the reduced revenue, Abolt said. Chatham County property tax refunds: Real property tax refunds Source: Chatham County Finance Department Homestead exemptions, property returns due April 1 This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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