Fulton Commissioners Freeze Property Values At 2016 Levels (UPDATED)

ATLANTA, GA -- Fulton County Commission members on Wednesday unanimously voted to adopt a resolution that would freeze property assessments at the 2016 levels, a move designed to bring much-needed relief to the the thousands of property owners who saw extreme spikes in their 2017 notices.

Commission Chairman Chairman John Eaves, who proposed the freeze with fellow Commissioner Bob Ellis, said Wednesday's vote was not just a fiscal matter, but a moral issue for the county.

"What we did today was vote to keep seniors from losing their homes; people from having to choose between paying for medicine or tax bills," he added. "Our vote will allow all people, regardless of their zip code, to keep their homes by giving them time to adjust to rising property values over time."

Along with holding the assessments at last year's levels, the resolution also directs the Fulton Board of Assessors take several actions related to the 2017 tax digest, such as:

• fixing errors and calculations;
• reinstating all freezes implemented under the Consumer Price Index (CPI) exemption that were removed in 2017; and
• requiring the Assessors’ Office to update its website to provide taxpayers with online access to their current notices of assessment within 30 days, and within 10 days once the revised (2016 levels) notices are mailed.

Eaves introduced the resolution (click here to read) after spending several weeks resulting what could be done at the county level to provide relief to taxpayers. The result? An 1881 statute that provided county commissioners with the authority to correct the tax digest and pass the freeze, he added.

"Thanks to everyone who recognized the urgency of this issue and worked to come up with a solution," Vice Chairman Bob Ellis added. "The action by the board today is the best and most appropriate action we can take to allow the necessary time to correct numerous errors in individual assessments, work towards changes to our property tax system and eliminate the severe and unjust impact that inaction would have caused on the lives of so many of our citizens."

Fulton Commissioner Liz Hausmann said today's vote protects property owners from an undue high tax burden for 2017 and will "allow the Georgia legislature to work on a simpler, fairer system in the next legislative session."

Fulton property owners will receive updated assessment notices once corrections are completed.

In its quest to find a solution, the county commission worked to balance the need to solve the problem of the 2017 assessments while allowing taxing jurisdictions such as cities and school boards to capture the value of new construction in their respective communities, the county argued. Those entities will be notified of the changes, and steps will be taken to minimize impact on other taxing agencies, it added.

Fulton's decision was met with praise from around the county. State Senator John Albers, who held a meeting at Roswell City Hall Monday to discuss the rise in assessments, said on Twitter that the commission's decision was "a successful step forward."

Roswell Mayor Jere Wood said he supported the decision. If the freeze is enforceable, it could result in Roswell's budgeted expenses for its 2018 fiscal year exceeding projected revenues, "but the city has sufficient reserves to absorb any deficit."

On the schools side, Fulton County Schools spokesperson Susan Hale said board members will have their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday and the impact of the freeze will be discussed as it considers whether to adopt is fiscal year 2018 budget.

Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said the commission "prevented a gross inequality in property tax hikes" due to the dramatic rise in valuations.

"It buys time for the Fulton legislative delegation in 2018 to adopt a law similar to the one governing Sandy Springs...that limits tax increases based on revaluations to 3 percent or the federal Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower," he added.

Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker agrees, adding that the issue won't be resolved in one year since it was "years in the making."

Bodker said it wasn't fair for property owners to face the large increases every few years because they are not assessed on a regular basis.

“This catch-up game that keeps happening over and over again...is just completely unfair," he added.

Milton Mayor Joe Lockwood told Patch he applauds the leadership and "swift action" taken by county commissioners to provide some level of immediate relief to citizens, and is looking forward with working with state and local officials "on achieving a long-term solution that is equitable but also helps ensure history doesn’t repeat itself.”

Wednesday's vote follows a slew of public meetings held by commissioners and other leaders on the topic, which drew hundreds of residents and property owners who implored the county to take action. It also comes on the heels of the Board of Assessors rejecting the plea during a called meeting last week, citing it did not have the legal authority to freeze the assessments. The Board of Assessors did direct the Tax Assessor's Office to perform several things that could help property owners, which were covered in Eaves' resolution approved Wednesday.

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