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HOLDING THE LINE ON TAX RATE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the last Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting, the commissioners endorsed a one-grade salary increase for most sworn police and fire personnel. Over time, and in the course of the annual employee evaluation process, this measure allows those affected to increase their earnings more than $5,000 per year in their existing rank. This measure corrects DeKalb’s pay disparity compared to other public safety organizations that compete for its seasoned personnel. Because the measure is carefully targeted, the pay adjustment can be accomplished without a budget reallocation or tax increase. The strategy was embraced by the BOC after weeks of one-upmanship on across-the-board raises and tax hikes. My approach was to hold the line on raising taxes, and to place data gathered by the county Human Resources department before my colleagues as a basis for our decisions. When the battle ground to a stalemate, the BOC reconsidered and adopted the focused approach. I want to thank each commissioner and the county administration for taking this action. The battle over public safety compensation puts a spotlight on the taxes you pay to fund the county government. This summer, homeowners will receive their DeKalb County property tax bill for the current calendar year. There are numerous government entities and laws involved in calculating property taxes for county residents. The county Board of Tax Assessors, which operates independently from the BOC and the county administration, is responsible for estimating the "fair market value" of each property. The BOC and other taxing authorities establish the tax rate (i.e. millage rate). Property taxes are levied in DeKalb by the cities, the county and the Boards of Education. The assessed property value and the millage rate that each government sets are primary factors in calculating property taxes. In DeKalb, we also have a rebate of county taxes to homeowners, funded by the Homestead Option Sales Tax or HOST. The rebate varies based on sales tax collections and the extent to which the county relies on HOST for capital improvements. In recent years, around 60 percent of the homeowners county tax has been erased by HOST. Other factors that affect property taxes are homestead exemptions, and a voter-approved assessment freeze for county taxes only. Of the property taxes collected in unincorporated DeKalb, about 75 percent goes to the county school system to be spent at its discretion while the other 25 percent goes into the general fund for the county government. Although an increase in the tax rate, even a slight one, would fund worthy expenditures, the county government needs to instead tighten its belt just like its citizens are doing at this time. That is why I am committed to holding the line on the 2008 tax rate.
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GOOD NEIGHBORS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To honor Earth Day, the North Druid Hills Residents Association organized a community cleanup. A group of neighbors gathered to collected litter near the intersection of Clairmont and Briarcliff roads. The group collected more than 30 large bags of trash along the roadways, most of it on Clairmont from I-85 to the Greek Orthodox church. Their next cleanup event is Fern Creek on June 1. Pictures from the event are posted on their web site (http://www.ndhra.org/).
Information submitted by Alan Pinsker, President, NDHRA If you would like to share the good things your neighborhood has done, please e-mail the details to me at: jrader@co.dekalb.ga.us
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