If you complain to local officials about this year’s tax bill, it’s likely they’ll point west toward Atlanta.
Property taxes are going up for homeowners. That’s despite the fact that Madison County governing boards pinched pennies and will take in less in property tax revenue collectively this year than last.
The catch?
Well, individual property assessments can always fluctuate, leading to increases for certain properties. But the across-the-board expense that will get everyone in 2009 is the state government’s elimination of the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grant this year, which will add about $240 to every homeowner’s bill in the county.
Collectively, property tax revenues in Madison County will be down slightly from $20,643,545 in 2008 to $20,414,628 in 2009, a 1.1 percent reduction in total taxes of $228,917. That includes all tax revenue collected by the county government, the schools, the cities and the industrial authority.
Only two governing entities in the county, the industrial authority and the city of Danielsville, will see any revenue increases, with the IDA taking in $3,029 (.004 percent) more in taxes and Danielsville receiving $1,514 (2.99 percent) more in revenue.
Meanwhile, the county government, the schools and the cities of Carlton, Colbert, Comer and Ila will all cut back on tax money collected in 2009. The county school system will again issue a bond rate to help cover the debt retirement for the construction of Danielsville Elementary School in 1993. The school board has eliminated the bond tax whenever sales tax funds have been available to cover the debt payment.
