Representative Linder’s 7th Congressional District covers Gwinnett County, and as a notable Republican it was quite an honor to have him as keynote speaker.  The speech he gave at this meeting started off fairly typically as the Congressman thanked the conservative activists in the room for their work on helping stop Cap and Trade legislation as well as their efforts to slow down, if not kill completely, a takeover of the US healthcare system.

But just a few minutes into his talk, Representative Linder, who is not known for short speeches, stunned the crowd by simply announcing that he will not be seeking reelection for the Congressional seat he has held since 1992. 

His announcement was greeted with silence, as the surprised crowd looked at one another to make sure they had heard the statement correctly.  With very little fanfare Representative Linder quickly ended his speech, paused for a single picture, and quietly left the event.   The following speakers had a difficult time keeping the audiences’ attention, and each one had to adlib a tribute to the retiring congressman – realizing that whatever they ended up saying could not help but be overshadowed by the morning’s unexpected news.

I feel like I let you down, but I just wasn’t paying attention and would have missed this completely if I had not been approached a few days ago by a good friend.  More on that in a minute.  Meanwhile here are the details on the property tax.

Each year Gwinnett County computes the actual property tax you pay based on the appraised value of your home and the millage rate.  While the millage rate may be increasing most home values have been decreasing.  Problem is that unless the County reappraises your property it will retain the same value as last year.

But here is the most important part.  If the County sends you an evaluation of your home that is the same as last year you just have to live with it.

You hear about people appealing their appraised value?  Turns out that is only if the County changes the appraised value.  Will they reappraise your home?  Look at this from the Gwinnett County website:

“The Board of Tax Assessor’s Office will be adjusting the 2010 tax value on several thousand properties in Gwinnett County as assessors review the real estate sales and foreclosure data occurring in certain areas the county.”

Several thousand?  Out of how many homes in Gwinnett?

If you want something done right, do it yourself.

I personally am not willing to take the chance that they will get around to checking out my house, or that they will come up with a valid appraisal value.  So here is what you can do quickly to see where you stand.  Visit this County website:

http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/TRRPWeb/

Follow the instructions.  This will let you create a form (Real Property Tax Return) that you can use to force the County to reappraise your property.  You enter the value you believe is fair, and the County either accepts it or comes back with a ‘counteroffer’.  There are several ways to determine the current value of your home.  The most accurate is to have an appraisal done, but that is expensive and you may not have time.  You can also try some of the online websites like www.epropertywatch.com.  This is where my friend’s company comes in.

www.slashmypropertytaxes.com is a company made up of registered appraisers.  They make an educated guess as to your home value and file the necessary paperwork.

[NOTE: I know there are other companies who probably do the same thing so don't bother writing me.  I was just saved by this particular one so I feel compelled to mention them - my home value looks like it is going to be $200,000 less than the County appraisal.]

But whether you use this company or a different one, get a full appraisal or just make a guess please do something.  And do it by March 1!

But what can I do?

Get educated.  Become involved.

If you made a New Year’s Resolution to become more politically aware and involved then Gwinnett is the place for you.  There are a number of excellent active Conservative organizations throughout the County.  Here are some of the leaders.

Gwinnett Republican Party

Certainly one of the largest conservative groups in the County, the Gwinnett Republican Party is an organization of dedicated citizens focused on advancing conservative principles and electing Republican candidates to office.  “This is one of the most important election years in our lives,” said Gwinnett GOP Chairman Chuck Efstration.  “We have a targeted campaign strategy for 2010 to ensure that every volunteer hour given or dollar donated to the Gwinnett GOP will have a direct impact in our local elections.”

Probably the best way to learn about the group is to visit one of their Saturday morning breakfast meetings.  Each month they have different key policy makers from the County, State or even the Federal government giving updates and answering questions.  These meetings are very visitor friendly, very well attended, and are your chance to meet all the people you read about in the paper.

www.gwinnettrepublicans.com
770-925-8683

Conservative Republican Women (CRW)

Conservative Republican Women is just what the name implies.  They seek to help Conservative Republicans win in General Elections; they work on various campaigns, volunteer and lobby for conservative legislation at the Capitol, pray for ALL elected officials and enjoy terrific fellowship with likeminded women.  Husbands are welcome too!  They meet monthly at the Magnolia Bakery Café in Norcross where they enjoy snacks and educational presentations.

www.conservativerepublicanwomen.org
678-482-7611

Georgia Tea Party Patriots and Freedom Works

With over 60,000 Facebook fans, Tea Party Patriots is “… a group of ordinary people reclaiming Americas’ founding principles.”  They promote fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets.  The National Coordinator, Debbie Dooley, as well as the Georgia co-coordinator (Julianne Thompson) both live right here in Gwinnett County, and are actively organizing and promoting Tea Party events across the County.  This group works with Freedom Works (founded by former Majority Leader Dick Armey) to recruit, educate, train and mobilize volunteer activists to fight for less government, lower taxes, and more freedom.

www.teapartypatriots.org
www.freedomworks.org
404 798 4663 (Julianne)
404- 625 4986 (Debbie)

Americans for Prosperity

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a national organization that promotes fiscally responsible and limited government by educating and involving everyday citizens at the local level.  The activities of County Commissioners, School Boards, local, state and national elected officials are examined, questioned and affected by keeping the citizenry informed and involved in their government.  AFP has a local Gwinnett Chapter that meets monthly for dinner and discussion of topics of local interest.  AFP Gwinnett offers a comfortable and friendly environment to keep abreast of what is happening in Gwinnett County and to meet the leaders who are shaping the future of the county and the state.  Charles Grizzle (getrealgrizzle@gmail.com) is the local contact.
 
www.americansforprosperity.org
770-331-3988
On Facebook; “AFP Gwinnett GA”

Constitution Committee

As you become active in the politics of our country you should familiarize yourself with the Constitution and understand how it chains and binds the “nature of man” in our government.  But the Constitution requires personal responsibility and the vigilance of an educated populace to produce adequate representation.  Contact the Constitution Committee as they look to the quotes and writings of our Founding Fathers for more insight.  The primary contact is Pete Hendrickson.

www.teachtheconstitution.org
peterhenrickson@yahoo.com
The Sons & Daughters of the Founding Fathers

The Sons & Daughters of the Founding Fathers is dedicated to advancing the ideals upon which this country was founded and protecting the unalienable Rights endowed upon us by our Creator. They are guided by the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the 8 pillars of a Responsible Government. Their focus is to hold our local, state and federal governments accountable to the citizens, to the core values of our society, and to govern by the rule of law in a Constitutional Republic.  They are looking for like-minded citizens for membership and to find qualified candidates for election to local, state and federal offices. They are bound by a deep respect and love for this country its citizens and want to preserve and guide the future of this great Country as our Founding Fathers originally intended; beginning within the local community.

Steve Ramey
steveramey@bellsouth.net

Gwinnett Commissioner Recall Effort

When this surfaced in December I had never heard of the person heading up the effort.  Add to that the original idea of collecting names at libraries, the inclusion of Commissioner Beaudreau and the need to gather signatures over the holidays and I figured it had no chance of success.  This effort will be like running a campaign – it requires massive organization, special knowledge about how to reach registered voters and proper publicity.

The first hurdle is to get 126,000 signatures of registered voters – almost 90,000 more than voted in the 2009 primary and more people than voted for Bannister’s opponent in the general election last year.  Twenty years ago a group failed in a recall of Chairman Lillian Webb when they could not produce just 44,000 names.  But here are the reasons I think the Chairman should be at least a little bit worried this time:

1. Additional groups who can mobilize the required volunteers have joined the effort behind the scenes.  These groups know how to organize, use the Internet, reach the right people and use the media
2. The effort has focused on just the Chairman and suspended while they develop the necessary infrastructure
3. The Gwinnett Daily Post seems to be on board, writing articles and giving the e-mail address for the organizer every time the recall is mentioned
4. Some local candidates may see this as a way to make a name for themselves and tap into a powerful organization effort
5. There is a great deal of frustration and anger among the citizens of Gwinnett

The conditions for recall in Georgia are subjective, and even if they get the names they will probably face a legal challenge.  Grounds sited for recall of Commissioner Webb in 1989 were a $52,000 business related trip to New York and County donations of more than $6,000 to local charities.  These were called into question even while the group was working on getting signatures.

Healthcare and States Rights

I believe that very soon we will have a healthcare overhaul by the current administration.  I originally thought there would be at least a speed bump in the Senate, but after We the People paid for lavish bribes to key Senators a bill is on its way back to the House.  I don’t even hold out hope that it will slowdown during Reconciliation – it is possible the House will just pass the exact version that came out of the Senate and plan on making changes after the President adds his signature.

How does this affect Georgia?  I believe the most profound impact may not be directly related to healthcare.  I think it is possible this will be more fuel for a resurgence of the State’s Rights movement.  I have heard very little from our State Representatives, but I would not be surprised to see many Republicans coming out strongly in favor of distancing Georgia from the Federal Government.  These local reps are much closer to the Georgia voters than those in Washington are and have heard the outcry.  They are also looking for some causes they can champion that will make everyone forget about the ‘unpleasantries’ they went through at the end of 2009.

Finances, Taxes and Fees

I believe this will be a huge problem in 2010.  Talk with almost anyone in government and they are worried about funding.  Revenue is down and will continue to decline through the year while many of the expenses (unemployment payments, for one) will be rising.  The coming problems with commercial real estate alone will reduce the County tax digest by at least $2 billion.  Look for ‘fees’ to pop up all over to help fund County and State spending addictions.  Super Speeder fines, ‘convenience’ fees, surcharges on your water bill, increases in development fees, etc.  The County has even hired a company to go out and collect delinquent fees, paying them with a percent of the money collected.  Higher fees increase revenue without having to come out and say taxes were raised.  People don’t tend to complain when asked for an extra $5 for something, but do that 500,000 times and you raise $2.5 Million.

The problem for the County is that people just don’t have the money.  More homes are falling into foreclosure, more small businesses are failing, more people are losing jobs.  As a small business owner myself I would love to see the economy rebound in 2010, no matter who gets the credit.  I just don’t see it yet.

287G

This program will be effective in reducing crime in the County.  How much remains to be seen.  It is not often that law enforcement gets a new tool and it will be comforting if it works to remove at least some of the criminals from the area.  It is just too bad that we don’t have a way to remove the criminals that are here legally as well.

Sheriff Butch Conway attributes the decrease in the number of illegals booked into the County Jail in the last few weeks of 2009 (as compared to 2008) to 287G.  The Sheriff certainly knows more about these things than I do, but I would guess that a large portion of the decrease can also be attributed to the economy.  Many of the aliens who were in Gwinnett in 2008 were associated with the housing industry in one way or the other, and I am sure a number of these have moved on due to lack of work. [NOTE: Since writing this I have been contacted by Butch Conway.  As I suspected, he does know much more about this than I do.  It turns out that while the homebuilding industry has been in trouble for a long time, the number of illegal aliens booked into the jail did not start to decline until 287g.  The sheriff looked for another factor, but it seems the new program may get the credit].

I expect some of the candidates running for County and State positions will jump on this movement.  There are a large number of legal residents who are out of work (or who know someone who is out of work) and would benefit by having less competition for the few jobs that are available, and taxpayers resent paying for education, medical aid and other expenses given to illegal aliens.

Gwinnett County Library

During visits to the Suwanee branch of the Gwinnett Library I have often been disappointed with the lack of conservative books.  Even some of my favorite history books (“The Real Thomas Jefferson“, for instance) are missing.  I am not saying they don’t have them in the system, but they evidently don’t have enough.

Rather than just complain I thought I would take some of my own money, raise some more from likeminded Gwinnettians, and purchase some books for the library. 

Turns out they won’t let you.

On the County Library’s website, it states:

“Professional librarians carefully maintain and select the library’s collection using established guidelines and criteria to best meet the needs of the community. While we do not accept donations of books or other materials, we thank those who think of us as a place to donate these items.”

So – the County is hurting for money, but the library won’t take book donations?

I sent an e-mail to the Library Board asking for some guidance but did not receive a response.  I understand the need for oversight on library materials.  But if there is an objective standard, why not publish it and then take book donations that meet that standard?  In this economy it would seem that every little bit would be helpful.

So – there you have it.  If anyone is still reading this, please send me an e-mail and let me know your concerns for 2010.  I would love to hear from you, and, if you send me a mailing address I will even add you to my list for free.  Contact me anytime at david@dhancock.com.

Have a wonderful and prosperous New Year!

Many in Gwinnett believe this will help the County reduce criminal activity, jail expenses, and overcrowding.  But there some residents that are adamantly opposed to any attempt at enforcing the Nation’s immigration laws.  Those in favor of 287(g) need to be just as vocal.

Racial Profiling Forum

The ACLU of Georgia and ABLE (Atlantans Building Leadership for Empowerment) are two of the main groups in Gwinnett that would like to stop this program before it really gets started.  They are teaming up this Saturday (December 5th) to present a Racial Profiling Forum in Lawrenceville.  They say that “Everyone is encouraged to attend and tell their stories,” and we certainly want to take them at their word.  Here are the details:

Saturday, December 5, 2009
1pm-3pm
St. Lawrence Catholic Church
319 Grayson Highway
Lawrenceville, GA 30082
http://www.gamaliel.org/ABLE/ABLEImmigrationpage.htm

About a year ago the ACLU offered a workshop in Georgia, and part of that program described how to oppose 287(g).  If you are considering attending the Saturday forum it would be a good idea to read this document, along with a point-by-point response prepared by Gwinnett resident Chester Hale.  Both of these documents can be found on the website www.Gwinnett287g.org.

We heard it at the public hearings – times are tough.  We heard that our neighbors want to keep, possibly even expand, the police, fire and court funding.  We also heard that many individuals and businesses simply cannot afford to have the County take an additional $60 Million in taxes.  You can meet both of these objectives simply by taking this opportunity to reevaluate the purpose of County government.  At some point the County will have to do what so many residents have done and differentiate between wants and needs. Why not do it now?

Residents have said that we should have planned for this situation years ago.  I maintain that it is never too late to start.  We should be planning for even less revenue in 2010 by cutting spending now.  If you don’t make the hard cuts this year, you will raise taxes.  But what about next year?  If anything I believe we will be in a worse position in six months and you will be faced the same decisions as you prepare the 2010 budget.  The Atlanta Business Chronicle estimates that the tax digest for Gwinnett County will be down as much as $2 Billion next year.  About 44% of your operating funds come from property taxes, and $2 Billion looks like about 7% of the County’s total tax base.  The 2009 budget also projected almost $19 Million misc/interest revenue, but as of the middle of this year you had received less than $2 Million.  Not surprising, with interest rates hovering around 0%.  You see how your investments only made 15% of what you made in same period last year?  Expect that to continue into next year as well.

So here are just a few suggestions.

The first is to avoid any more of the tricks. People will see through it and then you just look bad.  For instance, when everyone cut back on water use municipalities around the state had to raise water rates to meet their budgets.  Gwinnett County simply added special fees, surprising many residents with water bills that were almost twice what they were a year ago.  Then you had a Commissioner who is stepping down suggest a tax increase.  Stuff like that doesn’t fool anyone.

Selling the airport sounds like a great idea.  Running an airport is not a function of government and I would be excited to see what a private company could do with the facilities.  Kudos to Beaudreau.

Bring in more money from Sales Taxes. In 2008, total retail sales in Gwinnett County amounted to almost $16 Billion. An additional 1% sales tax would raise $154 million.  In 2008, $300 million came from property taxes, so the County could have added this sales tax and reduced the County portion of everyone’s property taxes by 1/2.  This means that a typical resident who pays $4,000 per year in total property taxes would only pay $3,320 per year, saving $680.  If he was spending an additional 1% on everything he purchased in Gwinnett then he could spend up to $68,000 per year and he would be right back where he started.   Remember that this spending only counts retail purchases, so things like a mortgage or car loan are not counted.

Remember 1991?  The economy was in the midst of a recession.  Gwinnett County building permits had all but stopped.  Citizens were cutting back and asking government to do the same. But as bad as it seemed, unemployment was only 4.3%.  While some County expenses have increased as a percent of the budget (the 1991 Tourism Fund at $685,000 represented 0.26% – today it consumes almost 1.5% or $13.5 Million) some have remained almost the same.  But the 3.5% of the budget that goes to Recreation only represented $8.5 Million in 1991.  Today it is over four times that amount yet we only have twice as many parks.  According to your budget document the County “… offers something for everyone, from taking a yoga class, learning how to make pottery, or joining in a pick-up basketball game.”  Cool – when we have the money.  But right now people are dropping their pets off at shelters because they don’t have the money to take care of them.  I doubt they will be taking pottery classes.

Charity is wonderful, but taking money from people at the point of a gun and giving it to your favorite non-profits is something else. The residents of Gwinnett give a great deal on their own, and if you let us keep the $60 Million we will have more to give.

Gwinnett county courts have to support over 40 different languages.  Drug cartel trials require allowance for non-English speakers, and translators are one of the large fixed costs they face. Can the County mandate that all proceedings be in English? If not, what would have to be done to make the switch?

And no more sweet offers to get County employees to quit.  You were very generous with our money earlier in the year, but next time decide yourself who you can function without, give them two weeks notice and send them on their way.  That is what real companies do.  Then they don’t lose the best employees and have to hire them back later as consultants.

You asked us to be more involved with the budget process, so this letter contains my two cents.  Feel free to do with it what you will.  And thanks for listening…

Sincerely,

David Hancock

First, Gwinnett County just made their crime statistics available on the website Crime Mapping (www.crimemapping.com).  With this website you enter an address and a date range and you can see a map with icons showing crimes in the area.  Drug possession, assault, burglary are all mapped out with little symbols.  Click on a symbol to find the date and case number.  Unfortunately none of the City police departments are participating yet, but it is a start.  You can also use this website to set up a “Crime Alert” that will send you an e-mail when criminal activity occurs near you home or business.

Second, if you haven’t discovered Scan Gwinnett (www.scangwinnett.com) you should.  As important as it is to know what crimes have occurred in your neighborhood it is even more important to discover where the criminals live.  Scan Gwinnett tracks all arrests made in Gwinnett County – you can even enter a zip code or two and set up a daily e-mail alert with all of the people booked who live in those zip codes.  While it is important to know about the burglary down the street it may be even more important to know about the (alleged) child molester living next door.

Scan Gwinnett has some other excellent features. You can listen to radio communications with the Gwinnett Fire department, which can be very informative when you want to know what is going on with an emergency.  The fire department responds to most accident calls and listening to their radio conversations will keep you up to date.  You can also play the “Guess Their Crime” game – follow this link (http://www.gwinnettmugs.com/) and you will be taken to a page of mug shots.  At the top you can change the city or date range for the booking.  Select a picture and you will be presented with the persons name, address, arrest date and charges.

Gwinnett County makes this information available to help us become more aware and, in so doing, hopefully reduce our chances of becoming a victim.  As the County said when it announced their participation in the Crime Mapping service:

The accessibility of this information will contribute to the awareness of our population and serve to enhance community policing practices. The Gwinnett County Police Department believes this will empower citizens to take extra safety precautions when necessary and to be on the look out for criminal activity occurring around them…The Crime Mapping concept has been proven effective in reducing crime by raising the level of awareness within the community and facilitating the partnership between the police department and the citizens. Community awareness is an effective means to reduce crime.

The Crime Mapping solution represents a hybrid in mapping technology which utilizes both Google Maps and an advanced geographic engine. Crime data is extracted on a regular basis from the department’s records system so that the information being viewed through a Web browser is up to date. These key components combine to serve the public accurate and timely data in the form of maps and reports.  By encouraging more self reliance within the community and further improving overall communications Crime Mapping will serve to benefit Gwinnett County and its citizens.

Let’s all work to make it a safer Gwinnett!

I understand the importance of optimism but I also believe in being prepared. And I am concerned that the current river of hope flowing from the White House is smoothing over reality and leaving many unprepared for what may be challenging times ahead.

I am hearing from people “in the know” who say that it is about to get much worse, especially at the State level where they will likely call a special session of the Legislature to discuss options.  Tax revenue is down significantly yet spending continues.   Many more banks in our communities are not going to make it much longer – the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that the Federal Reserve didn’t want any one area to have an excessive number of failures so they relaxed requirements somewhat in Georgia.  Without the hoped for recovery this leniency may come back to bite them with above average closings.  Then there is the looming crisis in Commercial Real-Estate to contend with.

The primary indicator of a recovering economy is employment. Most people don’t understand the fact that the government is monetizing the debt or what the cap and trade bill will do to our economy. And while they express concern about rising interest rates or bank failures around the office water cooler, once they are sitting at home all day reading the want ads things become much more serious.

So it was understandable for the administration to claim that their policies would keep unemployment under 8%. They may have even believed it. But now the rate is a minimum of 9.7%, and the administration is warning it will go higher.  In Georgia it already has, reaching a conservative 10.3% with unemployment in some counties as high as 21.7%.  Think about 10% unemployment – that means that one out of every ten people are out of work.

Five years ago the average taxpayer lived above his means – he had debt with no savings. Even if he has made adjustments he still has no safety net. A person in this situation who hears enough times that recovery is just around the corner may start to believe it. He may decide that he can take that vacation or buy that new television because his company will start to see growth in just a few months. Maybe if he could just borrow a little more money he can keep his lifestyle until the promised improvement happens. But what if the bottom is not a few months away, but 6 months, a year, or even more?

“Hope for the best but plan for the worst”. Your grandmother probably said the same thing. But a person who has been persuaded that the future is brighter stands a very good chance of being completely wiped out if it is not. With that in mind, here are some inconvenient truths about the economy that ought to be considered:

We were told that nationwide 466,000 jobs were lost in August, and unemployment rose from 9.4% to 9.7%. Although not widely reported, we were told in the same report that if you count those who are no longer looking for work, unemployment is actually 16.8%. Then add in those forced to take a temporary job (not counted as unemployed), or the small business owners who haven’t been able to take a salary for three months.

Think about this – even if we have a remarkable turnaround and lose “only” 400,000 thousand jobs in September, 350,000 in October and 300,000 in November the effect is still cumulative and the number continues to climb.

But wait – there’s more. In July the minimum wage went from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour. Many states have minimum wages which went up as well. So when an employee is forced to give every entry-level worker an 11% raise what do you think will be the result?

A horrible spiral

When people lose a job they spend less – and this is where the domino effect kicks in. The office vacancy rate is now up to almost 16%, vacancy rates at strip malls nationwide are at 10%, and rent for both is falling. Cities and municipalities who can’t get away with taxing the voters are raising taxes on hotels, who have to either lower their rates or see rooms go empty. Restaurants are having to offer deals to fill tables, stores are having to discount items, contractors are not building, and on and on. This cycle is difficult to break quickly. Consider the restaurant that fails. All of his employees are out of work, his landlord has another vacant space (and less income), and his suppliers see reduced business. Even the other tenants in the strip mall suffer because of less traffic. And everyone who used to depend on this business now has less money to spend.

The administration says to give their programs more time. Time for what? The massive tax increases that everyone knows have to come? How will that help?

If the government could actually create jobs or increase wealth (without just printing money) then it would stand a chance of pulling us out of this. But all it can do is hinder business, and no matter how progressive the liberal he has to know that business is where the wealth is generated. Imagine what the economy would look like if a conservative had come in and on day one had cut the corporate tax rate to a flat 15%, eliminated the capital gains and estate taxes and began reducing government spending and regulations. The savior of the economy will not be a government. It will be the entrepreneur who is only asking for a chance to turn things around.

I hope the country can recover quickly in spite of what is happening, but as for me, I am planning for the long haul.

Technically the tax increase proposed by the Commissioners was not voted down – it was just never voted for.  The Commissioners passed a budget back in March that required a large increase in property tax revenue to make it work.  When they started to vote for the increase the citizens complained, so they backed off and didn’t set a tax rate at all.  Instead they went back and tried to adjust the budget.  The process dragged on and on, but the Commissioners could not come up with a tax rate – so the County went to Court and asked a judge to set the rate, requesting an increase over last year’s rate.  The judge refused to take the hit by setting the rate himself (it is really the Commissioners job anyway) and sent it back to the Commissioners.  But again the Commission could not agree on the rate, so the judge left it the same as last year and a temporary tax bill (the one you are now holding in your hands) was sent out.

The rate is temporary because it is the Commissioners who have to come up with the final tax bill.  But the school system and others who live off revenue from property taxes just couldn’t wait any longer and so something had to be done.

So – my bill should be the same as last year?

You would think that, but no.  By the time the tax bills went out all of the property values had been adjusted for 2009.  The failing economy (most importantly home prices) meant that most of the appraisals were lower in 2009 than they were in 2008.  The final tax you pay is computed by multiplying a tax rate (Millage Rate) by a percent of the property value.  When the judge ordered a bill to be sent out with last year’s millage rate the County realized that the actual revenue it received would be lower, but there was no time to go back and change all of the appraisals in their computer system to match last year’s higher values.  With the property values reduced, the County will actually get $6.2M less revenue than last year.

So – are you saying my bill should have been lower this year?

Well, it should have been, but, again, no.  For years, the State has been offering a credit to Georgia property owners called the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant which resulted in a reduction of as much as $275 in your property tax.  But with funds drying up governments are scrambling to find money, and so this year the State dropped the program.  This was really a subsidy for property owners that came from other tax revenues, and in my opinion it is better to have it out in the open and paid for by individual property owners – but it is still a shock to see the increase.

Also realize that the portion of your property tax that goes to pay for the County Government is less than 40% of your total tax bill.  Most of the bill goes to pay for the Gwinnett County Public School System.  Here is the breakdown from my personal tax bill:

School Taxes  64%
GA State Taxes 0.8%
Stormwater Fee 1.2%
County Taxes  34%

So – can I appeal my tax bill?

You should know the answer by now.  The only appeal homeowners have is to appeal the valuation of their property.  Unfortunately that needs to be done at the first of the year, and at this point there is nothing you can do until the County starts the process all over again in 2010.  And then you will just be appealing what will be the basis of your 2010 tax bill.

One more thing and then I will shut up.  The bill sent out is technically a temporary bill, because the County Commission STILL has not set an official rate.  They could keep the existing rate (the one from last year) or they could decide to raise (or lower) the rate.  If they do decide to change the rate then they will need to send out an amended bill within the next month.  I think that is unlikely – the Commissioners just don’t seem to be able (or willing) to set a tax rate and so will probably just make more cuts and live with the revenue they have until next year.

The County Commissioners have had a bad year, but this has to be one of the low points.  Unfortunately when the Commissioners have a bad year, the taxpayers have one as well.

Moving the determination of your property tax from a public forum to a legal proceeding really leaves taxpayers in a bad spot.  There will be no public hearings.  We do not even get to know what the County wants as a millage rate, and residents will have absolutely no more input into the process.  Writing your County Commissioner will not do any good because they can say that it is out of their hands.

But is it really out of their hands?  On August 11th, someone from the County will appear before the judge and make a case as to what they believe the millage rate should be.  And that someone should be receiving direction from the County Commission.  We know that Chairman Bannister wants the taxes higher – in his recent letter to the citizens of Gwinnett he stated “I continue to believe [the tax increase] is necessary to meet the public needs of our county”.

So the big question we have to ask is – what millage rate is the County going to request?

They could ask for the same rate as last year.  But theoretically if they decide they want to go back to the 25% increase they offered a few months ago there is no reason they couldn’t.  The judge could grant the increase without any input from the public, and the Commissioners could claim that they didn’t set the rate, the judge did.  I don’t see that happening – I think the most likely scenario will be a slight increase in the millage rate over 2008.  But either way I am surprised how little attention is being paid to this, especially considering the tremendous press given the previous millage rate debates.  After all the buildup to this moment, having a judge just come in and set a millage rate by fiat is sort of anticlimactic.

The event is currently scheduled in Courtroom 3A at Gwinnett Justice and Administration Center, which, according to Judge Hamil’s clerk, is “a tiny little room” with only two rows for spectators.  Remember, this is a legal proceeding so there will be no input from any taxpayers – but it will be interesting to show up and watch the County present their case.  I, for one, am planning on going.