2023 Property Tax Season Wrap Up
Citizens Rise Up; Lack of Transparency; Big Tax Hikes Coming.
The annual property tax fest has ended with massive hikes in taxes foe very citizens. The Citizens were heard and in most cases the citizens were completely ignored. There were a couple of exceptions which merit gratitude, but these are not overcome by the massive tax hikes from the school systems which will effect everyone.
However, there was something new this year. This year, the local politicians, especially those who wear the “Republican” Jersey, were put on notice that they are being noticed when they raise taxes. Thanks in part to readers of this blog, the local government saw record turnouts at tax hike meetings. They heard from citizens more than ever before. They also heard from the Bartow Republican Party that they oppose tax hikes. It is a new and welcome phenomenon for a county Republican Party leadership to take such stances.
Schools
The School Boards of Cartersville City Schools raised taxes about 30%. Bartow County School Board raised them over 15%. This means, based solely on the schools, that an additional $36 million will be taken out of the hands of citizens and transferred to the school systems that have never been so rich. They will each pad their reserve funds by millions and see record increases in unnecessary spending.
Cities that Hiked taxes (and those that didn’t)
The City of Cartersville, despite having an additional $9 million in net revenue growth in their general fund, raised property taxes $1 million. As always, Mayor Matt Santini complained that the state law “requires” them to call a tax hike, well, a TAX HIKE! He complained that it did not seem intellectually honest for the state law to call even an extra “penny” in taxes a “tax hike”. Well, Mr. Mayor, you and your entire City council actually RAISED Taxes and not by one penny. But by over one million pennies. For the record, that is an additional 100 million pennies. It is also not “intellectually honest” to state that the millage rate is not going up while property values skyrocket and taxes are increased. Here is some math that might help:
Millage rate (tax per $1,000 of value) x property value (dollars) = Tax Collected
(A handy formula card is offered at the top of the post for local elected officials to print and tape to their walls).
Meanwhile, Emerson also increased their taxes by 15% about ($117,000).
However Adairsville adopted the Rollback rate and Euharlee cut their property tax collections. They are greatly appreciated.
Bartow County
Bartow County government is also not raising property taxes. The Sole County Commissioner, Steve Taylor, chose to adopt the “Rollback” rate. That is the rate that avoids tax hikes. Even with the rollback rate, the county will see a 6.9% increase in revenues. That is due to new taxpayers that came with our rather hyperdense growth. Commissioner Taylor is facing an election. Cynics like to say that is why he is not raising taxes. So what? If this is the only reason, it at least shows he is responsive to the citizens. It also demonstrates the POWER that citizens have when they hold elected officials accountable. That can happen every few years at the ballot box. However, it is also necessary to be engaged in local government budgeting throughout the year to keep spending down and governments accountable to the people.
Lack of Transparency by Bartow Schools.
The Bartow County Schools has been particularly difficult to deal with for citizens seeking information. Not only did the Board vote to raise the millage rate BEFORE even hearing citizen comments, but they refused to justify it. This Coalition has worked to obtain basic budget information and has been met with being ignored, obfuscation, bureaucracy, cash charges and lack of full disclosure. The current “budget” was released but was not a budget at all, merely a list of spending plans. There was no revenue sources. No analysis or comparison to prior year. No indication of number of new students in the system to serve. NO breakdown of WHY there would need to be this massive hike in taxes. The Board will be asked to take control of their employees, to include the superintendent, to ensure more transparency of this information in the future.
Citizen Involvement Needed.
Thanks to all who participated in this process. You showed up. You emailed and called. You talked to elected officials in person. You let them know that you don’t want to see massive spending and arrogantly approved tax hikes that completely ignore the negative impact on the citizens and the local economy. Keep it up and stay tuned. There will be MUCH more to do. Those wanting to volunteer to help in these efforts please email bartowfreedom@proton.me to volunteer. You can gather and analyze budget data, show up to speak, help organize group meetings and more.
Now if we could have a referendum on having a 5 person county commission!