June 10, 2017

First, thanks to all of you who are coming to the Milton Coalition blog.  Yesterday was a banner day for the blog.  We set a daily record with 181 hits.  Since the relaunch of the blog a few weeks ago, we have received about 800 hits.  And 92 new people have signed the Milton Coalition Petition For Smart Land Use and Good Governance . . . with your help, we should soon pass 1900 signatures.  Please sign if you have not already done so.  Click on this link:  Smart Land Use and Good Governance Petition (Milton Voters Only).  Now on to today’s blog post . . .

Please note that the venue for Commissioner Liz Hausman’s town hall meeting has changed.  It is now going to be held at John’s Creek High School’s auditorium (at 7pm Wednesday, June 14).  Originally, it was to be held in a smaller venue.  However, after the raucous, overflow crowd at Bob Ellis’s town hall, Fulton County officials are wising up (better late than never) to the fact that citizens are livid over the property tax increases.  We are mystified that Fulton officials, particularly elected representatives, were so disconnected from taxpayers that they assumed that a large chunk of citizens would accept 50+% increases in their appraisals.  That’s right!  According to figures cited at Commissioner Ellis’s town hall, 22% of Fulton property owners received 2017 appraisals that were at least 50% higher than their 2016 appraisals.  So yes . . . we’re going to need a bigger room.  And if Fulton (and state) officials don’t rescind the 2017 appraisals and begin to seriously reform our property tax system, they better start thinking about booking the Georgia Dome for future town hall meetings.

In Milton, we see the same disconnectedness in some City Council members.  Some have been in office too long; they have become indifferent and arrogant.  Not even a year ago, an overflow crowd of Miltonites turned out to oppose a rezoning on Ebenezer Road.  Only overwhelming public opposition defeated the rezoning, which Matt Kunz and Bill Lusk voted for.  (Karen Thurman conveniently recused herself.)  Did Council learn its lesson?  No.  Not even a year later, Council approved a rezoning of 3 parcels on Hopewell Road, granting twice the density than would have been allowed under existing AG-1 zoning.  So yes, our Milton City Council may also “need a bigger room.”  And remember, it is an election year.  Council Members Karen Thurman and Bill Lusk are in deep trouble with voters and cynically seeking, along with Matt “he’s-running-for-something” Kunz, to exploit the current taxpayer anger over inflated tax appraisals.  Don’t be fooled.  When the appraisal issue was raised at the last Milton City Council, none of them said boo about it.  Now that they see the public anger and big crowds (to which they can pander), they are shocked . . . yes shocked by the appraisal increases.  Again, don’t be fooled . . . changing Milton’s millage rates isn’t the solution.  The solution is rescission of the 2017 appraisals and deep reform of our tax system.

It is important to once again pack the room at Ms. Hausmann’s meeting.  We need to keep up the pressure.  Some members of the Board of Assessors and the Chief Tax Appraiser should be there.  The Board of Assessors will meet the following day (June 15^th) to decide whether to roll back the tax increases.  As they deliberate and vote, they need to have a fresh impression in their minds of discontented citizens.

Action Guide.  So citizens, here is the actions that we suggest that you take:

1. Write and call your County Commissioners. Here are their e-mails that you can conveniently cut and paste into an e-mail. bob.ellis@fultoncountyga.gov, liz.hausmann@fultoncountyga.gov, john.eaves@fultoncountyga.gov, lee.morris@fultoncountyga.gov, marvin.arrington@fultoncountyga.gov, emma.darnell@fultoncountyga.gov
2. You might want to hold off filing an appeal until after the Board of Assessors meets on June 15^th. Should the Board decide against rescission of its appraisals, then file an appeal.  The deadline for written appeals is July 3, 2015.
3. We would suggest that instead of an appeal that you file an Open Records Request seeking the analysis used to determine your home appraisal. This will not only help you in filing your appeal, but also give the Fulton County government a sense of the flood of appeals that will be filed and likely overwhelm their system.  You are supposed to get a response to an open records request within 3 days.  Here is the information you need to file an Open Records Request:

Contact Open Records Custodian, Constance Mackey at 404-612-6407 or email her @ BOA.openrecords@fultoncountyga.gov.  You may also mail open records requests to the following address:  Fulton County Board of Assessors 235 Peachtree Street, N.E., Suite 1400Atlanta, GA. 30303 Attention: Constance Mackey, Open Records Custodian

4. Attend Commissioner Liz Hausmann’s town hall meeting on June 14^th. Please consider stepping up and speaking.  The more people she hears from, the better.  Please be civil in your comments, but also direct.
5. Tune out local city politicians, like Matt Kunz and Bill Lusk, who are just seeking to exploit the current anger over taxes for political gain and trying to divert attention from their poor voting records and unethical behavior.
6. Sign the Milton Coalition’s Petition For Smart Development and Good Governance (Milton voters only) and leave a comment. We are Milton’s only citizen-run government watchdog organization.  Click on the following link:  Milton Coalition Petition For Smart Land Use and Good Governance
7. Return to the blog daily for updates. You can actually subscribe to the blog so that posts get pushed to your e-mail box.  Simply go to the home page, enter your e-mail address, and click the follow button.

Thanks for your continuing trust, confidence, and support.  There is strength in numbers.

Advocating for Citizens,

The Milton Coalition . . . We are non-partisan group of concerned citizens advocating for clean, competent, courageous, and citizen-centric government.