State Senator to tackle Fulton County property tax issues
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A state senator from Roswell will try to tackle the on-going tax assessment problem in Fulton County in the upcoming legislative session.
Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, has pre-filed legislation which would change property tax assessments for the cities of Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park and Roswell as well as the Fulton County School District. The move would limit property tax increases residents see year-to-year by capping an increase at 3 percent.
The move comes after many residents saw dramatic increases in their property assessments for the past year. More than 60,000 properties across the county saw increases in excess of 50 percent.
Fulton County Chairman John Eaves turned to an 1881 law which would freeze property taxes at the 2016 level which would have brought relief to 360,000 property owners.
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But then the state denied Fulton County's tax digest meaning the county couldn’t collect taxes to fund schools and other services. The county and school district sued the state, asking a court to rule in favor of allowing them to collect the case. A judge agreed, but not before causing major cash flow issues, especially felt in the schools.
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“We must do all we can to protect our citizens and make sure they are not dealt the same card twice like the tax fiasco they experienced earlier this year,” Sen. Albers was quoted as saying in a press release sent to FOX 5 News. “It is imperative that we pass this legislation, give the citizens an opportunity to vote and show those who elect us that we can fix what is broken by providing solutions quickly and efficiently.”
The 2017 property tax bills were issued Nov. 15. Residents in Atlanta have until Dec. 31 to pay and unincorporated Fulton County has until Jan. 15.
But the drama may not be over for residents as the order to collect the taxes was under a Temporary Collection Order. Because of this, future adjustments may be made.
Copies of the legislation can be found here: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/Prefiles.aspx?Chamber=1