Property Taxes Raised in ATL (Atlanta, Clayton: foreclosures, city hall, lease)

[brettk]

Atlanta council raises taxes, ends furloughs | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories//2009/06/29/atlanta_property_tax_increase.html?cxntlid=homepag e_tab_newstab - broken link)

[neil0311]

Glad I don't live in the City of Atlanta. It's a shame that the city let itself get into this situation in the first place. Sacrificing public safety should never have been the first action taken, but I think it was the leverage needed to justify raising taxes.

The real change that's needed is a change of leadership at city hall.

[atlantagreg30127]

And all it does is address the officers that are on furlough. The revenue they're going to make from the hike won't address the fact the Police Department is still 800 officers short of full staff.

[noah]

I am a city of Atlanta tax payer and have mixed feelings. We need the police out there but agree city hall needs reform, including privatizing certain services (garbage etc). This on top of the 12% water hike going into affect this month will but the pinch on homeowners.

That said this is not the only city in the area that will face budget problems. Clayton county has announced they are raising property taxes too.

[gt6974a]

Well, they receive more revenue when property values are high and then **** the money away, now the prices go down and they still raise taxes to continue to **** the money away.

People conserve water, so there's less revenue, so instead of having a smaller budget, they raise rates.

Yet they cite police and old pipes. Well, there weren't enough cops before when they had all the money and the pipes weren't being fixed then either.

[Mishap]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

And all it does is address the officers that are on furlough. The revenue they're going to make from the hike won't address the fact the Police Department is still 800 officers short of full staff.

I say we give cops free/heavily discounted housing in some of the relatively vacant condos or even foreclosures. Paying them more doesn't necessarily solve the issue of turnover or quality since the union will likely just absorb it and demand for more and ask the officers we have to do less. Sure some already own their own places but giving them an incentive like property within ATL city limits probably wouldn't hurt. Structure it w/ tenure...ie stay w/ the force for 10-15 yrs and its yours. I'm sure there are a few developers out there that would love a property tax break if they lease/sell some of their units to the city.

Personally, I wouldn't mind having more officers living in the area. I know apts out in the burbs do it all the time to improve the security of the area.