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August 25, 2010

Dalton plans to lower tax rate

Rachel Brown rachelbrown@daltoncitizen.com

Dalton City Council members plan to lower the property tax rate by 3.3 percent thanks to what officials are touting as conservative budgeting.

“The main reason is the tax digest is actually larger than what we had budgeted, and we’re turning that money (about $250,000) back to the taxpayers,” said Mayor David Pennington.

The mayor and council are scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at the Emery Center, which is Dalton’s African-American heritage and multicultural center, at 110 W. Emery St. Plans are to lower the rate from 2.974 mills to 2.875 mills. A mill is $1 tax for every $1,000 of property value. Properties inside the city limits are taxed at 100 percent of their value before exemptions.

The city’s announcement comes just one day after Dalton Board of Education members said they plan to raise their property tax rate from 7.845 mills to 8.134 mills after school system officials underestimated by $1.2 million how much declining home values would affect their tax base. Dalton Public Schools Finance Director Carol Shanahan said she deliberately chose not to budget as conservatively as in previous years because she did not want to unnecessarily cost someone their job. The school system eliminated about 60 jobs during a round of budget cuts earlier this year.

The recently completed net tax digest for the city is $3.35 billion, down from $3.69 billion the previous year. The net digest is the total amount of taxable property. School board members said they’re proposing an increase in their millage rate to offset continued state funding cuts and local revenues that also continue to fall.

Pennington said now is not the right time to raise taxes as the economy isn’t expected to rebound for at least a few more years. He said he plans to speak with school officials about concerns that raising taxes could negatively affect the city’s economy.

“Keep in mind you’ve already got people who have lost jobs all throughout our community who pay these taxes,” he said, adding that some businesses will not locate to Dalton because of the tax rates. “It’s not time for any government to be increasing taxes. We need to start thinking outside of the box.”

This marks the third year in a row the city has lowered its tax rate. The rate was at 3.478 mills in 2007 and 3.002 in 2008. City Finance Director Cindy Jackson said the general fund budget for the current calendar year is $27.1 million and about $8.3 million of that is anticipated to come from local property taxes, up from the $8.1 million city officials originally expected to collect.

”The millage rate is, essentially, the tax rate for property which includes not only real estate but some personal property and motor vehicles,” City Administrator Ty Ross said in a press release. “While a reduction in force did occur two years ago, the city’s continued dedication to fiscal restraint has enabled it to continue to reduce the tax burden without any general reductions in pay or benefits and/or furloughs.”

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