Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog: August 2014

www.NorthFulton.com


August 12, 2014
NORTH FULTON, Ga. – The showdown over whether the state can single out Fulton County to limit its ability to raise taxes will now be settled in the courts.

The Fulton Commission adopted Aug. 6 a general fund millage rate of 11.781 mills, a 17 percent increase for property owners. The vote was 4-3 with Commissioners Liz Hausmann, Joan Garner and Robb Pitts dissenting.

That vote not only put the county in contravention of the General Assembly legislation barring Fulton from raising taxes until 2015, it also triggered a lawsuit from Fulton County legislators.

Their opponents were ready.

Just hours after the vote, attorney Josh Belinfante, a law partner with Robbins Firm, filed suit on behalf of six Fulton County state representatives, including Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones, who authored the bill, and one former state representative.

The others are Rep. Lynne Riley (R-Johns Creek), Rep. Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell/Sandy Springs), Rep. Joe Wilkinson (R-Atlanta), Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs) and Edward Lindsey, the former representative.

They sought a preliminary and permanent injunction against the Fulton County Commission to halt the tax increase. That would prevent the tax increase from going forward at least until there is a judge's ruling.

"We're committed to upholding state law and the Georgia Constitution and protecting Fulton County taxpayers," said Jones.

The bill the General Assembly passed in 2013, House Bill 604, forbade the county from raising taxes until 2015, and then the county would need a super majority of five or more votes to raise taxes.

At that time, the newly redistricted Fulton County will have three Republican districts instead of two, which would mean no tax increase was likely without Republican support.

"We regret having to take this action, but the Fulton County Commission voted to increase property taxes contrary to state law and property taxpayers' best interests," Jones said.

The legislation was based upon a 1951 local constitutional amendment that gives the Georgia General Assembly broad authority on the time and place and the amount Fulton County specifically can levy for ad valorem taxes, Jones said.

Furthermore, the amendment was reauthorized by the state legislature in 1987. The constitutional amendment only affects Fulton County, and the Georgia General Assembly has no similar authority on ad valorem taxes for other counties.

Since the legislation is part of the Georgia Constitution, Jones said it renders the county's claim moot that the law is unconstitutional under the separation of powers counties and cities know as home rule.

Fulton Chairman John Eaves does not accept that interpretation of Fulton's right of home rule.

"I feel operated within our rights as duly elected officials to generate additional revenue for the county through the levying of taxes," Eaves said. "I think this will indeed decide what is indeed home rule."

Eaves noted that when the law passed in 2013, all of the metro Atlanta county commissioners joined Eaves in opposing the legislature's actions because they saw it as a threat to their right of home rule as well.

"It's Fulton County today, but someone else's jurisdiction tomorrow," he said.

But supporters of the legislation point to what they say is a bloated $625 million budget that uses $48 million from the county's fund balance that exhausts that avenue for balancing the budget.

Over the last five years, the county has run through $150 million of fund balance, and now that well is dry.

Eaves said he realizes Fulton spending will have to change and that the budget will need to be trimmed in 2015.

"Going forward, I am prepared to lead the charge of identifying other areas of efficiencies in county government. We will have to figure out how to better streamline and consolidate and do a better job of delivering services at a cheaper cost," Eaves said.

That begs the question why was there no charge to address the budget this year. But Eaves did note there will be three new faces – Marvin Arrington, Bob Ellis and Lee Morris – on the commission (assuming Eaves wins in November where he has opposition for the chairman's seat).

As far as who will win the court battle, Jones said she thinks the law will pass muster.

"I do not think you can declare something unconstitutional that is expressly allowed in the constitution," Jones said

Labels: Fulton County Commission, Fulton County Tax hike, Property Taxes

www.ajc.com

By Jill Vejnoska
Talk about a bucket list!
You've probably heard of the Ice Bucket Challenge by now. Heck, at this very moment, you might even be picking a few lingering stalactites from your own nostrils — all the while good-naturedly cursing the well-meaning "friend" who got you into this.

At least you're in good, shivering company:
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has poured a bucket of frigid water all over himself to help raise awareness for ALS. So have Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, fine living doyenne Martha Stewart ( she probably made her own, very classy bucket) and a whole bucketload of Kennedys en masse. (Check out these "Best Celebrity ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Videos" here.)

Nor is it just big names taking the plunge. About 100 employees of Atlanta-based small business online lender Kabbage took the ice bucket challenge Friday morning. Meanwhile, you can't open up your email or Twitter or Facebook feeds these days without discovering they contain a few more hilarious new videos of someone you know suddenly sporting soaked clothes and extremely shocked looks on their faces.

In the unlikely event you've been stuck off on an ice floe somewhere, here's a quick catch-up on what's become a viral video and social networking sensation. And — better yet — a public relations and fundraising boon for The ALS Association. The challenge was created in late July by former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates and fellow ALS patient Pat Quinn. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS has no cure and often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis.

Frates has lost the ability to talk, but the idea for the challenge spoke volumes in other ways: Pour a bucket of ice cold water all over yourself, preferably on video; then issue a very public challenge to someone else to do the same. That person then has 24 hours to make good on the challenge, or else make a $100 donation to an ALS charity. And so on.
Who knew that one little drop in the bucket would quickly grow into a bigger water-based sensation than "Sharknado?" On TV, the "Good Morning America" team doused itself then issued an on-air "I dare 'ya" to the cast of "Modern Family." On Twitter, #icebucketchallenge is trending with everyone from Nancy Grace to the Broadway cast and crew of "The Book of Mormon."
Of course, a few naysayers have tried pouring cold water all over the grassroots campaign, complaining that it gives people a watery out from making donations.
In fact, though, it seems just the opposite is happening.
In a little over two weeks, some $9.5 million in donations have poured into The ALS Association and its 38 chapters, compared to $1.6 million over the same period last year. (Kabbage is donating $100 per employee who participated in the challenge). Equally important when it comes to fighting something many people know only vaguely as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," public awareness is clearly on an upswing. Since July 29th, some 70,000 new donors have contributed to the association.
"We have never seen anything like this in the history of the disease," said Barbara Newhouse, president and CEO of The ALS Association. "People who have never before heard of ALS are now engaged in the fight to find treatments and a cure for ALS."
In other words, Go soak your head.

Labels: ALS, ice bucket challenge, The ALS Associatio

www.AJC.com

By Christopher Quinn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July home sales and prices in 11 metro Atlanta counties dipped slightly from June, the Atlanta Board of Realtors reported Monday.
Sales slipped 2.5 percent to 4,530 homes from June’s 4,644. Median sales price dropped from $230,000 to $227,000.
The numbers could be adjusted upward if additional closings for the month get reported, as happened in June, said ABR President Todd Emerson.
“While sales for June initially reflected a decrease in sales year over year, the updated information based on additional reported closings now reflects a light increase over 2013,” he said.
Emerson said the market continues to move slowly toward a balance between homes for sale and buyers.
John Hunt, of Atlanta real estate analysis firm SmartNumbers, said a week ago that a healthy balance between buyers and sellers usually leaves about a six-month supply of homes on the market for sale. The market has been tight during and after the recession. There is about a 4.5 month of supply now. But that is picking up about a tenth of a point monthly, which means supply could be balanced within a year, he said.
Though July’s numbers dipped a bit, the Atlanta housing market has been picking up momentum. Home values have been improving.
ABR’s numbers show that the median sales price this July is $15,000 higher than a year ago.

Labels: Alpharetta, Foreclosures, foreclosures for sale, Forsyth County, home sales georgia, milton, values down