Questions prompt DeKalb to postpone setting tax rate | www.myajc.com

Nearly two-thirds of property tax appraisals hitting mailboxes across DeKalb County show homes worth the exact same as last year.

But there is enough uncertainty — about how the tax rates are being calculated for city residents, as well as about the 40,000 homes that went down in value and the 39,000 that went up — that the County Commission on Tuesday postponed setting their property tax rate. It was proposed to remain steady with last year’s rate.

“I don’t want to be locked in to a rate when we have questions,” Commissioner Elaine Boyer said after a split vote to delay setting the millage rate.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the 232,000 properties shows that Memorial Drive is the effective dividing line this year, with nearly all increases occurring just north of the artery that links Stone Mountain to Atlanta.

But the pockets of increases are often surrounded by homes where values are flat — prompting some residents to wonder if there is a glitch in the appraisals.

via Questions prompt DeKalb to postpone setting tax rate | www.myajc.com.