The news media had a lot to say about the 2009 session of Georgia General Assembly. Not much of it was particularly flattering.
If you’re a homeowner, there’s good reason to tune out this echo chamber of Negative Nellies. That’s because property assessments have been frozen for the 2009 and 2010 tax years.
Improving upon the five-year DeKalb property assessment freeze that I helped pass and the citizens of DeKalb County supported in a 2006 referendum, this new freeze covers your entire property tax bill, county taxes and school taxes alike. The 2006 DeKalb freeze only covers the county government’s portion of your property tax bill.
The legislation that accomplished this new across-the-board assessment freeze was House Bill 233. It passed on a party-line vote and was signed into law by Governor Perdue last week. I was proud to support it. My good friend Representative Edward Lindsey, who represents Buckhead, deserves kudos for authoring the bill.
Some of you may be asking: What about that notice of an assessment increase I received from the county within the past month?
Even in this difficult economy with headlines indicating that home prices are either falling or stagnant, but certainly not on the rise, DeKalb County recently sent notices of increased property assessments to a large number of homeowners in our community.
Thanks to HB 233, the assessment hike some of you recently received from the county is null and void. It will not be used in calculating your 2009 property tax bill.
It is recommended, however, that you still appeal your reassessment notice if you were planning to do so. The appeal deadline is Monday, May 18.
The procedures for filing an appeal can be found here.
The General Assembly also passed Senate Bill 55, a measure requiring that foreclosed properties be taken into account when counties set the tax values of nearby homes. You may recall that DeKalb had a problem with exactly this issue. The problem was solved this time with some quick intervention by CEO Burrell Ellis. Under the new state law, it won’t happen again.
