https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com


County officials pass homestead option sales tax >By Liane Levetan

County officials pass homestead option sales tax >By Liane Levetan

DeKalb County, Ga., was facing a critical need for infrastructure improvements at the same time its citizens were demanding dramatic property tax relief.
  • Written by American City & County Administrator
  • 1st July 1997

DeKalb County, Ga., was facing a critical need for infrastructure improvements at the same time its citizens were demanding dramatic property tax relief. The county of half a million residents, located in the heart of the Atlanta metropolitan area, provides the same services and faces many of the same challenges that major cities and counties across the country must deal with.

For instance, county officials knew that DeKalb’s 29-year-old courthouse needed to be replaced with a facility that had a sprinkler system and complied with the Americans with Disabilities Act. New fire stations and police precincts were necessary to keep up with the demands of population growth, and local matching money was needed to help solve traffic gridlock in the county’s major employment centers and to upgrade old county roads that were suddenly surrounded by new subdivisions and flooded with commuters.

At the same time, DeKalb officials felt increasing pressure for property tax relief from politically active homeowners, many of whom had worked hard to defeat recent sales tax proposals (including two that featured property tax rollbacks). Additionally, DeKalb is one of only three counties (out of 159 in Georgia) that did not have any form of local option sales tax for county use. Georgia has a 4 percent state sales tax, and DeKalb adds an additional 1 percent dedicated to MARTA, the Atlanta region’s public transportation system.

In I994, State Representative Bart Ladd (R) introduced legislation into the state General Assembly that would enable counties to pass a Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST), revenues from which would be used to fund a 100 percent homestead exemption on county (not school) property taxes.

While HOST generated some attention, the idea encountered resistance initially for three major reasons: it was such a new concept; it did not offer significant property tax relief to owners of businesses or rental properties; and its enactment would place DeKalb County at the state sales tax limit, preventing the county from using tax revenues in the future for capital improvements unless the state limit was increased.

County leaders solved the problem by agreeing to restrict a portion of the sales tax revenues each year to be used solely for capital improvements, using the remainder to fund the 100 percent homestead exemption.

The final HOST legislation, which would allow DeKalb County to place HOST on the ballot for a vote, had the unanimous support of the county board of commissioners and the DeKalb delegation to the general assembly and was signed by the governor.

Because the sales tax must be collected for a full calendar year before the 100 percent homestead option goes into effect, the county will collect an estimated $92 million between July 1, 1997 and Jan. 1, 1999, when the homeowners begin receiving property tax bills that reflect the legislation.

This initial collection will be used for long-delayed infrastructure improvements. (See page 6 for more tax details.) Beginning in 1999, DeKalb County homeowners will receive approximately a 40 percent reduction on their total county property taxes. The remaining 60 percent of DeKalb’s property tax supports schools and is not affected by HOST.

Another 1.33 mills of county property tax designated to repay bond indebtedness cannot be removed by law.

Any surplus from sales tax collections will be used to offset business and rental property taxes by lowering the millage rate. According to projections, for the first year of collections this will be about 1. 9 mills.

Liane Levetan is the CEO of DeKalb County.

Tags:

Most Recent


  • Report: Reforming emergency dispatch won't be easy, but it's necessary
    Over the last several years, reforming law enforcement has been a primary topic of discussion in communities across the nation. Discourse has mostly centered around the challenges agencies face in addressing the complex needs of those in mental health crisis, and the disparity of experience among community members depending on their race. But in this […]
  • Bloomberg
    Three U.S. cities to adopt Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge-winning project to combat climate change
    Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced that seven global cities, including three in the United States, will be adopting Stockholm’s Biochar Project, which turns plant waste from parks and homes into a charcoal-like substance that residents can use in their yards to help combat climate change. The project was the winner of the 2014 Bloomberg Philanthropies European […]
  • 10 cities ideal for hybrid or full-time telecommuters seeking an outdoor lifestyle
    When the pandemic was first realized, cities emptied out, highways were suddenly devoid of cars and storefronts shuttered overnight. The assumption in many communities was that it would last for a few months and then everything would return to normal—those who’d left would return to their office jobs and apartments.  But these two years later, […]
  • County officials pass homestead option sales tax >By Liane Levetan
    Take American City & County's budgeting survey
    With the recently passed infrastructure-related legislation by the federal government, local administrators across the United States are poised to make historic investments into their communities.  Given the generational precedence of this action, we’re curious about the state of local budgets—what expense lines are increasing the fastest year-over-year? In what area has federal funding been the […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • Public procurement can be transformative for stakeholders in a community
  • The 10 Most Sustainable Large U.S. Cities

White papers


How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022

Hand Hygiene: Compliance Matters

23rd May 2022

What it Takes to Build a Winning Esports Program

23rd May 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

We want to hear from you! Please take this brief survey and let us know how your organization is managing your budg… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

30th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Report: Reforming emergency dispatch won’t be easy, but it’s necessary dlvr.it/ST7kQ5

30th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Three U.S. cities to adopt Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge-winning project to combat climate change dlvr.it/ST4bjk

29th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 cities ideal for hybrid or full-time telecommuters seeking an outdoor lifestyle dlvr.it/ST4T5g

29th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Take American City & County’s budgeting survey dlvr.it/ST0qQP

28th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Six cities and counties will take stock of underutilized assets in Rethinking Revenue incubator dlvr.it/ST0ZVp

28th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

Seamless Cooperative Experience Saves Indiana City Exponentially in Time and Money dlvr.it/SSxp95

27th June 2022
AmerCityCounty

10 best large cities for fishing dlvr.it/SSxbSZ

27th June 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X