DeKalb commissioners today voted to raise the county property tax rates. AJC.com reports it's a 26 percent hike.
Property owners in hard hit neighborhoods desperately needed relief that would have come from lower assessments they received earlier this year. Today's move eliminates or greatly reduces those breaks.
But the impact may be largest in neighborhoods that haven't yet had severe blows. For homeowners who didn't get a lower assessment, their tax bills just got jacked up by 26 percent. How many of them are struggling? How many of them will be nudged into foreclosure by this?
This is a whopper of a tax hike. Enough to scare potential home buyers who will now scratch DeKalb off their shopping list. Businesses may have to lay off workers to cover their higher tax bill.
It may take time to see the results, but today's short sighted action will likely trigger yet another leg down in struggling DeKalb.
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