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COMMUNITY
JOE EARLE
DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis delivers his annual “State
of the County” message on Jan. 29.
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Ellis reduces proposed
property tax hike
MM MU
joeearle@reporternewspapers. net
Just a few days after DeKalb CEO
Burrell Ellis publicly defended his sug
gested property tax hike this year, he re
vised his proposed budget to sharply re
duce the amount of the increase.
In his annual “State of the Coun
ty” message on Jan. 29, Ellis called for
a 1.69-mill tax increase, which he said
would translate into an increase of
about $48.50 in taxes for the owner of
a $200,000 house.
Then, on Jan. 31, a county press re
lease said a surplus from last year al
lowed Ellis to amend his budget plan to
reduce the proposed tax increase to .64
mills, or about $18.37 a month for the
homeowner of a $200,000 house.
County officials were able to cut the
amount of the increase after they found
they had $8.7 million they could carry
over from 2012 to 2013, the county said
in a press release.
“This represents a reduction of over
1 mill in the recommended millage rate
and appropriately balances the county’s
financial resources with our need to de
liver services,” Ellis said in the release.
DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff
Rader said that even with the reduction
in the tax increase, the commissioners
plan to take a close look at Ellis’ budget
to see how the CEO proposes to spend
money.
“I certainly think it’s good to have
more revenue,” Rader said, “but I do
think there are areas of the budget that
we need to scrutinize.”
In his “State of the County” speech,
Ellis said his 2013 budget plan provides
raises for the lowest-paid county work
ers, that the county should be able to ob
ject legally to new annexations of coun
ty territory, and that the county needs
to take regional approaches to problems
such as transportation.
He also outlined a series of “strug
gles” the county faces, but said they
would move the county forward.
“We have our struggles, but our
struggles make us stronger,” Ellis told
about 400 political and business lead
ers attending the speech at the Thalia N.
Carlos Hellenic Community Center on
Clairmont Road.
Ellis did not address recent police
searches of his home and office. In a
press conference after his speech, he said
he had done nothing wrong and that the
speech did not seem like the appropri
ate place to talk about the investigation.
Promoters of the event told him “this
is not about Burrell Ellis, this is about
DeKalb County,” he said. “I’m going to
stay focused on the state of the county.
That’s why we’re here.”
His speech, he said, was intended “to
remind people that struggle and success
go hand in hand.”
On the budget, Ellis said the county
has to deal with a 25 percent decline in
property values, including a 50 percent
drop in areas of the county not within
cities.
“After years of cost cutting, to the
tune of over $100 million, we are now
holding the line in most county depart
ments,” he said.
His budget does propose an increase
of 25 police officers this year and a re
alignment of police precincts, he said.
Ellis said county officials have asked
state legislators to change the law so
county approval would be required for
cities to annex areas that receive coun
ty services.
“We have now reached the ‘tipping
point’ where continued annexation
will hamper the ability of the county
to adequately fund essential services,”
he said.
6 | FEB.8 — FEB.21,2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
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