About Atlanta Intown. (Sandy Springs, GA) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2014)
INTEGRITY. QUALITY. EXPERIENCE. :® ORIENTAL DESIGNER RUGS 404-367-0001 www.OrientalDesignerRugs.com 1 250-B Menlo Dr. NW, Atlanta 30318 - Howell Mill/Huff Rd. Designer/Warehouse District Mon. thru Sat. 10-6pm | Cleaning. Repair. Restoration. Appraisal NO APOLOGIES Fulton Tax Commissioner defends high salary By Collin Kelley IN town Editor Arthur Ferdinand has faced - in his estimation - a thousand lawsuits since he became Fulton County Tax Commissioner in 1997. Those lawsuits have come from disgruntled residents, the county and the municipalities he serves, while lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to curb Ferdinand’s unorthodox - but completely legal - pocketing of money from selling off liens on delinquent properties to make him the highest paid elected official in the state. Ferdinand, a native of Trinidad and former executive at IBM, is unapologetic. “If I do more work, I should be compensated,” he said frankly, noting that he also handles tax collection for the City of Atlanta, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Chattahoochee Hills. “I don’t apologize for it one bit.” Ferdinand gave a broad-reaching talk and answered questions at the Sept. II Buckhead Council of Neighborhoods meeting. The tax commissioner’s name has come up numerous times during recent BCN meetings, mainly stemming from his salary. Arthur Ferdinand HOW DO t October 9 th - 12 th “OPA” is a Greek word which translates to an expression of joy and happiness. Join us for • Delicious Greek Foods & Pastries Also available at DriveThru • Church Tours • Exciting Greek Dancing with Audience Participation • Children’s Entertainment Area • Fantastic Shopping Admission: $5 for Adults FREE forChildren 12 & under Hours of Operation: Thursday 5pm-10pm Friday 5pm-llpm Saturday 11am- 11pm Sunday 11am- 7pm y\ iuxnict GREEKi^ n FESTIVAL\\ni _ 'Like us" on face book Follow us on Drive-Thru Hours: Thursday/Friday 11am-8pm Saturday 11am-8pm Sunday 11am- 6pm With an annual salary of around $383,000, much of that comes from the $1 he takes home from every lien he sells or settles. As an example, Ferdinand said if he sells the lien on a $100,000 property in Fulton, he gets $1 while the county gets $1,000. That’s money in the county’s piggybank it wouldn’t have had if the property had been allowed to sit derelict or was subjected to foreclosure. Ferdinand was first appointed tax commissioner in 1997. He said his wife “forced” him to go to the interview, but he not only got the job, he’s remained entrenched there after the position became an elected one. He’s been re-elected three times - in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He brushes away criticism by stating that he boosted Fulton County’s tax collection from the lowest in the state to the highest at 99 percent, which he continues to maintain. “My office collects more taxes than DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett put together,” he said. The stage legislature has tried several times to change the law that allows the tax commissioner to personally gain when liens are sold, and Ferdinand said he would retire if the law was ever successfully changed. He also said he believed that most elected and appointed officials were being underpaid for all the work they do. Several residents, who had received liens against their property, were frustrated with Ferdinand because they had never received official word from the tax commissioner’s office. It was suggested that registered mail should be used for such correspondence, but Ferdinand said the county would never approve the increased cost. “From 49 cents to $3 per piece of mail will not happen,” he said. Ferdinand said both Fulton County and Atlanta had countless numbers of properties that were sitting abandoned and derelict with his office unable to collect taxes or no investors willing to buy the liens. Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who was in attendance at the BCN meeting, said the recent creation of the city’s code enforcement commission would be working to track down individuals and corporations to get those properties back on the tax roll. 09 IN ci AtlantalNtownPaper.com Facebook.com/Atlantal Ntown For information & online sales visit atlantagreekfestival.org Twitter.com/ATLINtownPaper 6 October 2014 | INtOWIl AtlantalNtownPaper.com
