NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Revenue has rejected Fulton County’s 2017 tax digest, effectively halting property tax collections across the state’s most populous county, until a judge hears arguments from both sides.
In a letter sent to Fulton County Tax Commissioner Arthur Ferdinand Wednesday, Ellen Mills, director of the Department of Revenue, noted several issues with the digest the county submitted.
“Assessments (were) improperly issued, appeared to be deficient, and taxpayer appeal rights from those assessments appear to have been truncated,” Mills noted. "It is highly likely that many taxpayers did not timely exercise their appeals rights and not appeals were properly accounted for to determine whether the appeals exceeded thresholds.”
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In May, hundreds of property owners were shocked to find assessments, in some cases with spikes as much as 200% over this time last year.
At the time, county officials said that was in part due to the fact that assessments in some sections of the county hadn't been completed in many years and the county was essentially playing "catchup."
Sandy Springs homeowner, Robert Skaggs, told Petchenik Thursday he wasn't thrilled with the 50% increase he saw in his assessment.
"I wasn't happy with it. Not at all," he said.
After outcry, county leaders eventually voted to scrap the 2017 numbers and reverted back to last year's figures, but the DOR has taken issue with that approach.
"It's questionable whether Fulton County Board of Assessors had the legal authority to roll back the initial May 19th values," the letter stated. "Assessments were improperly canceled and then re-issued , appeals rights were truncated, and residential properties were subsequently undervalued."
"This attempt to try and fix things has only made things worse in the short term," said Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker, who has been critical of the assessment process. "My message to the county is the same it's been for years: They need to get this right. At some point they've really got to start doing their job."
Bodker said the digest rejection will mean his city and other government entities, including Fulton County and Atlanta Public Schools, won't be able to bill for taxes.
"We're gonna have to, in the short term, figure out how to get by with using our reserves and our current cash, may have to cut back expenses," he said.
Fulton County sent Petchenik the following statement about the situation:
On Thursday, October 25, Fulton County was notified that the Department of Revenue did not approve the 2017 digest as submitted. Earlier this year the Board of Commissioners took an innovative approach that was necessary to protect homeowners from financial harm in the face of swiftly rising property assessments. The financial security of our residents remains our first priority. On Tuesday, October 24, Fulton County requested a hearing for a Temporary Collection Order to allow us to move forward with issuance of 2017 tax bills. A temporary collection order will also allow the other taxing jurisdictions within Fulton County that conduct their own property tax billing to move forward with issuance of property tax bills. The hearing date for the Temporary Collection Order is scheduled for November 3, 2017. The Department of Revenue identified some routine issues with the digest submission. The Tax Commissioner's Office and the Tax Assessors' staff immediately began action and expect that most of those issues will be fully resolved forthwith. We will remain in continued dialogue with all stakeholders throughout this process.
A spokesperson for the Fulton County school system told Petchenik, the decision is a "severe blow to the ability of Fulton County Schools to pay its bills in the coming weeks."
Petchenik was sent the following in an email:
The District calculates its budget based on 63% of the revenue coming from property taxes.
"The situation is dire," said Chief Financial Officer Robert Morales. "The district now has a cashflow problem. We are trying to determine how the District will operate without the anticipated tax revenue, and we may need to borrow money to make our payroll and pay our bills."
We are seeking legal relief to this situation. Fulton County Schools is joining Fulton County government and Atlanta Public Schools in pursuing a Tax Collection Order (TCO) to request a judge intervene in this matter. Typically, Fulton County sends property tax bills in early August and money is collected in mid-October. We are at the end of October with no idea of when we will get the money. The FCS Board of Education is a careful steward of taxpayers' money, but each day the county delays sending tax bills cuts into our ability to meet our financial obligations.
"The delay in property tax revenue puts the District in the difficult position of having to worry about how we will pay our 14,000 hardworking employees," said Board President Linda Bryant.
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