Cobb OK with Drop in Tax Digest

Cobb County’s property tax digest is going to decline for the fourth consecutive year, Chief Tax Appraiser Phi Hogsed Sr. says, but don’t expect a second consecutive .

After Hogsed estimated the digest will decline 3.9 percent this year, Board of Commissioners Chairman Tim Lee told The Marietta Daily Journal: “There absolutely will not be a tax increase this summer.”

He also said there will be no layoffs or furloughs.

Finance Director Jim Pehrson said Cobb can absorb the likely $8.3 million decline in revenue because the county budgeted for a 2.5 percent drop, built in a surplus and an emergency reserve, and can find ways to cover the remaining $2.2 million or so, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The picture might not be so rosy for the Cobb County School District.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Addison assumed a 2 percent decline in the tax digest when he that includes five furlough days, larger class sizes, delayed raises and reduced funding for paraprofessionals in libraries to close a $62.5 million deficit.

That deficit included a $1.1 million cut in local property taxes for the school system. If the actual decline in the digest is 3.9 percent, that would mean around $1 million in additional lost revenue.

The Board of Education will hear budget ideas incorporating Hogsed's estimate at its next Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.

As for your tax bill, Hogsed said assessment notices should go out to homeowners around May 18, the MDJ reported.

The Tax Assessor’s Office is still making the rounds to appraise properties. You can search at the assessor’s website to see whether an appraiser has you on the schedule.

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