Good news for DeKalb County homeowners.
Thanks to the county's first-ever SPLOST approved in November, residents will see lower tax bills and more county improvements starting this year.
CEO Michael Thurmond tells WSB Radio that the $1.2 billion SPLOST and EHOST “will be applied – $110 million a year, for the next six years.”
Thurmond adds, “Home values are going up, residential property taxes are going down.”
For example, a quarter-million-dollar home in Decatur will see its property tax bill plummet 66 percent from $530 last year to $180 this year. In Dunwoody, the nearly 38-percent-cut takes the bill from $719 to $449.
The chart below shows the estimated tax savings for DeKalb homeowners by jurisdiction, based on the $250,000 appraised value of a house.
Thurmond says some $600 million of the funds will be used to invest in infrastructure.
"We're going to pave 300 miles of the worst streets and roads in DeKalb County," he says.
According to Thurmond, each municipality within the county has its own plan for public safety and infrastructure; 85 percent of the funds must be used in those categories.
"Our cities and County will work together to improve streets, roads, and bridges, improve public safety, and also make investments in repairing and upgrading parks, senior centers, libraries, and health centers," says Thurmond. DeKalb County's plan also includes purchasing new police and fire rapid-response vehicles; replacing, repairing or building 29 fire stations; and designing a new public safety training center.
In 2018, the gross tax digest of all taxable property in DeKalb County grew $3 billion, or 10.7 percent, from $28.3 billion in 2017 to $31.3 billion. Despite the growth in property values, application of EHOST tax credits will generate lower property taxes for DeKalb homeowners.
"We're in a very good place," says Thurmond. "It's a harmonic convergence in DeKalb County."