DeKalb County Council passes tax hikes again

The July 7 vote instituting a new local option income tax for public safety was invalid because it had not been advertised properly in the newspaper, Council President Alan Middleton said.

That measure passed again Tuesday morning, 5-2, with council members Eldonna King and Larry Moughler voting against it.

The proposed local option income tax increase calls for a .75 percentage-point increase in the income tax rate. However, county officials will cut .25 percentage-point from a separate economic development income tax rate that was used for property tax relief.

Also on Tuesday, the council voted 4-3 to implement an increase in the property tax rate for a cumulative capital development fund. The measure raises the rate from 1.9 cents to 3.3 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The council has earmarked the additional funds for bridge repair.

Council members King, Moughler and William VanWye voted against that increase.

With higher assessment values, the proposed rate at least theoretically would raise more than the $300,000 the council had predicted, Mays said.