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THURSDAY. JULY 26. 2007 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 3A
Property tax forum discusses exemptions
Daniel Cumming / Photo
Clint Mueller explains property taxes to a room full of mostly Pickens County sen-
iors, interested in the current seniors’ school tax exemption.
By Daniel Cumming
There were few chairs open
at the property tax forum hosted
by the League of Women Voters
in the County Administration
Building on Saturday morning.
The well-attended meeting
gave an opportunity for citizens
to weigh in on the current
Pickens seniors’ school tax
exemption, with Commissioner
Rob Jones and Chief Appraiser
Roy Dobbs speaking. Clint
Mueller, the Legislative
Director of the Association of
County Commissioners of
Georgia, also spoke.
The main topic of discussion
was the current law that exempts
the school tax portion of proper
ty taxes for citizens of Pickens
County over the age of 62 and
with an income of less than
$25,000.
Anyone over the age of 50
with 100 percent disability also
qualifies for the exemption.
The school tax makes up the
majority of property taxes, and
is determined by the budget that
the school board sets for the
year.
Dobbs estimated that 400 to
600 people receive the exemp
tion in the county. To be
exempted this tax year, citizens
need to file before March 1,
2008.
Many in the crowd voiced
displeasure with the current tax
ation. “I’ve been paying taxes
for 56 years, and I’m tired it,”
one man said at the forum. “I
should be exempt from state,
federal, and school taxes,” he
said, receiving applause from
others in attendance.
Most of the people that were
upset did not qualify because
their income was above the
$25,000 mark.
One argument for an across-
the-board exemption for seniors
is that they have not had chil
dren in school for many years,
but still have to help fluid the
schools.
“Everyone wants to be
exempt,” Mueller said. “There’s
all those intangible benefits to
education, but there’s no direct
benefit to you.”
Dobbs said that the home
stead exemptions for Pickens
County are already greater than
other counties around. The state
of Georgia offers $2,000 off of
the assessed value of property,
but Pickens offers everyone
$5,000 off.
He said that reducing one
group’s taxes does not reduce
the need for tax revenue. “If you
think any group, short, tall,
whatever, should shoulder the
burden instead, go talk to them,
and see if they’re willing,” he
said.
Mueller explained it with a
metaphor. If you squeeze a bal
loon in one section, another part
of the balloon has to inflate to
accommodate the air. If one
group pays less tax, it does not
mean that the need for tax
money diminishes, so another
group has to pay more to cover
it.
“The only true way to lower
taxes is to reduce the air in that
balloon, or reduce budgets,” he
said.
Since the school board sets
the budget, one man said, “the
school board is who we need to
be talking to, not Dobbs and
Jones.”
“A lot of times they’re not
thought of as the gate keepers
for property taxes, but they real
ly are,” Mueller said.
Jones agreed, but said that
there needs to be a consensus
before going to the school
board. The best way to be organ
ized is for someone to act as a
leader and form a committee, he
said.
John Baptist volunteered
from the crowd to organize and
lead a citizens’ committee to
change the tax system that he
feels is unfair. Many stayed after
the forum to sign up to be on the
committee.
He described a system in
Delaware County in Ohio,
where instead of school tax on
property, the county had a 1%
income tax on anybody that
worked, thereby exempting
retired people.
“I’ve seen it in action,” he
said. “It works.”
Mueller said that there was a
movement headed by Ga.
Speaker of the House Glenn
Richardson to do away with
property taxes in the state alto
gether.
The difference would be
made up by eliminating all the
exemptions on sales tax, such as
on food, and possibly taxing
services. It would basically shift
taxes from property-based to
consumption-based.
It is major reform that no
other state has done, Mueller
said, and it would need two-
thirds majority vote in both the
Ga. House and Senate, and then
put on the state ballot to pass.
During the forum, it was also
suggested that Pickens County
should encourage industrial and
commercial growth, so that the
businesses could shoulder the
brunt of the taxes. Dobbs dis
agreed, saying that growth does
not pay for itself.
“Look at the counties that
have the most of it,” Dobbs said
in an interview later, “and they
have the highest taxes.” This is
because counties with more
business and higher population
require more public services
paid for by taxes, such as
schools, police, and fire depart
ments.
Dobbs said he didn’t see any
body falling through the cracks
with the current seniors’ exemp
tion, but he was glad to see citi
zens get together to form a com
mittee to change something they
think needs to change.
“You think we’ve got a prob
lem here, find us a solution,” he
said later. “Go see what you can
come up with.”
Kat Alikhan, president of the
League of Women Voters of
Dawson and Pickens Counties,
facilitated the event, and was
happy with the turnout.
“In my opinion, the most
important outcome of this meet
ing today was the formation of a
committee to begin discussing a
plan for a change to the school
tax exemption for seniors,” she
said after the forum.
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