Revised Tax Estimates May Ease Budget Standoff

By Odette Yousef

Atlanta, GA – Atlanta's City Council may be willing to get behind a more modest increase in the city's property tax rate than the mayor originally proposed. The projected increase is smaller than expected, because the city's tax digest has gone up.

With the new numbers, the increase in property taxes is roughly a quarter of what the mayor had first proposed. Taxes on a $100,000 home would go up roughly $7. For a $200,000 home, taxes would go up by $24.

Council member Mary Norwood thought the original increase was too high, but says these numbers are easier to discuss with voters:

NORWOOD: I think it certainly is more palatable to the citizens that we serve.

Norwood hasn't decided to back the new increase, but says the revisions may ease dialogue between city council and the mayor.

Mayor Shirley Franklin wants the tax hike to help close a $140 million budget gap for fiscal year 2009. The city must, by state law, pass a balanced budget by end of June.