GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Gwinnett County commissioners are moving forward with plans for a new blight tax targeting abandoned, rundown or overgrown properties.

The proposed program would increase property taxes on properties officially designated as blighted by applying a higher general fund millage rate.

“The program allows the county to increase property taxes on properties that are officially designated as blighted, by applying an increased general fund mileage rate on the properties,” County Attorney Jenny Carter said.

The tax would be about seven times the current millage rate assessed on a property until it is cleaned up or redeveloped. Carter said the program would only apply to abandoned, unoccupied properties.

“Blighted properties consume disproportionate government services, and have negative impacts on their surrounding residence and communities,” Carter said.

Gwinnett’s director of Planning and Development would determine which properties are designated as blighted. Property owners would have the ability to appeal the designation to the county.

Other metro Atlanta communities have also taken steps to increase taxes on distressed properties.

DeKalb County announced plans earlier this summer for a blight tax that could charge property owners as much as 10 times the regular property tax rate. The county said an abandoned property assessed at $350,000 could face a property tax bill as high as $75,000.

Atlanta recently enforced its blight tax provision on an abandoned 20-story high-rise on Peachtree Street in Midtown, increasing the property tax rate on the property to 25 times the normal rate.

WSB Radio’s Keith Cromwell contributed to this story.