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Tucker Town Hall - DeKalb Budget
"It's Your Money"
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Tuesday - 23 February, 2016 7.00pm - 8.30pm Tucker - Reid H. Cofer Library 5234
LaVista Road, Tucker
Commissioner Nancy Jester is hosting a countywide Town Hall for DeKalb County taxpayers to discuss and offer public input to the 2016 DeKalb County Budget and the expected $21 million payment holiday from the refinancing of bonds at low interest rates.
DeKalb County taxpayers will have the opportunity to share their observations on the Budget and offer specific issue recommendations and suggestions for the Budget and how best to utilize the $21 million in anticipated payment savings.
The Pension Legacy Tax Punitive and Based on False Assumptions
I am writing to alert you to a
potential property tax increase coming from the Georgia General Assembly.
House Bill 711, sponsored by Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D-Druid Hills), seeks
to add a special tax district to cities formed after 2005. Rep. Oliver
believes that newly formed cities owe, what she refers to as, "pension
legacy costs". The notion that these legacy costs exist is false and
here's why.
1. Newly formed cities continue
to pay fully into the General Fund and the Fire Fund. Embedded in these
funds are the costs for benefits, including pensions for the employees
providing these services.
2. Newly formed cities continue
to pay fully into the self-sustaining funds of Sanitation and Watershed.
Embedded in these funds are the costs for benefits, including pensions for the
employees providing these services.
3. DeKalb County lowered the
millage rate for the Police Fund (a fund newly formed cities do not pay into)
in the 2015 budget.
4. DeKalb County did not reform the
pension benefit system until December 2015 - 7 years after the formation of
Dunwoody.
5. DeKalb County used
unrealistic actuarial assumptions that negatively impacted funding.
If DeKalb County believed there was
a crisis in the pension plan, chiefly driven by the new cities no longer paying
into the police fund, why would the county lower the police fund millage rate
in 2015? If the county believed that the crisis was caused by newly
formed cities, why did pension reform not occur until just a few months ago in
December of 2015?
House Bill 711 is only directed at
newly formed cities. It is punitive, based on false assumptions, and is
not congruent with the facts. Make no mistake about it, it is a
discriminatory tax aimed at Brookhaven and Dunwoody. It is a bailout that
would allow DeKalb County to continue poor fiscal management.
Read the full post - with facts
on Understanding DeKalb's Millage Rate System here: http://ow.ly/YAgSH
GA HB 711 LC 28 7744 - 1 -
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT
1 To amend Chapter 1 of Title 36 of the
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
2 general provisions regarding local
government, so as to provide for the retirement of certain
3 pension obligations; to provide for
definitions; to provide for the creation of special districts
4 under certain circumstances for a
limited period of time; to provide for procedures,
5 conditions, and limitations; to
provide for certain taxation in connection with the retirement
6 of such obligations; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
7 purposes.
8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF GEORGIA:
9 SECTION 1.
10 Chapter 1 of Title 36 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general
11 provisions regarding local
government, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
12 follows:
13 "36-1-27.
14 (a) As used in this Code section, the
term:
15 (1) 'Local government services' means
one or more services enumerated under
16 Article IX, Section II, Paragraph
III(a) of the Constitution of Georgia.
17 (2) 'Pension obligation' means the
amount of unfunded pension liability attributed to a
18 portion of a formerly unincorporated
area of a county that is included in the corporate
19 limits of a municipality identified
in paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this Code
20 section which:
21 (A) Has been established and verified
by an independent actuarial study conducted
22 pursuant to the direction of the
board of trustees of the county pension board; and
23 (B) Is directly attributable to the
provision of local government services in the formerly
24 unincorporated area of the county,
which local government services ceased to be
25 provided in such area following the
incorporation of a municipality identified in
26 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection
(c) of this Code section.
LC 28 7744 - 2 -
27 (b) Pursuant to the authority granted
by Article IX, Section II, Paragraph VI of the
28 Constitution of Georgia, there is
created in each county of this state a special district with
29 boundaries that shall correspond with
and be conterminous with the geographical area
30 described by the governing authority
of a county in which a pension obligation has been
31 established and verified under
paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code section.
32 (c) When a pension obligation has
been established and verified under paragraph (2) of
33 subsection (a) of this Code section,
the governing authority of the county shall be
34 authorized to adopt an ordinance or
resolution ratifying such pension obligation and
35 describing the geographical area to
which such pension obligation is directly attributable.
36 Such area in the county shall
correspond to and be conterminous with either:
37 (1) The incorporated area of a
municipality created on or after January 1, 2005, and prior
38 to July 1, 2016; or
39 (2) The incorporated area of a
municipality created on or after July 1, 2016.
40 (d)(1) Following the adoption of the
ordinance or resolution under subsection (c) of this
41 Code section, the pension obligation
directly attributable to that portion of the formerly
42 unincorporated area of a county which
is located in each special district created under this
43 Code section which existed on the
effective date of the local Act incorporating a
44 municipality identified under
paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (c) of this Code section
45 shall become the debt and obligation
of the special district. Such pension obligation shall
46 be determined by calculating the
percentage of the total decline in the unincorporated tax
47 digest of the county as a result of
the incorporation of the municipality as of the effective
48 date of the local Act creating such
municipality. Such percentage shall then be multiplied
49 by the total unfunded pension
liability existing on the effective date of the local Act
50 creating such municipality. Such
portion of such unfunded pension liability shall then
51 be multiplied by a factor equal to
the percentage of decline in the contribution to the
52 pension funds by the area encompassed
by the special district due to the cessation of the
53 provision of all or some of the local
government services within such special district as
54 a result of the incorporation of such
area to obtain the pension obligation of the special
55 district. Such pension obligation
shall then be amortized over 30 years at an interest rate
56 of 7.75 percent annually.
57 (2) An amount of ad valorem taxes
shall be levied and imposed by the governing
58 authority of the county in the
geographic area of the special district to generate the annual
59 amortized amount calculated pursuant
to this subsection to retire such pension obligation
60 in 30 years.
61 (3) The assumption of the pension
obligation by the special district shall not create any
62 additional obligation on the part of
the special district or any right which did not exist
63 prior to the creation of the special
district.
LC 28 7744 - 3
64 (4) The assumption of the pension
obligation by the special district shall not create any
65 obligation on the part of the
municipality within which the special district is located.
66 (e) Each special district created by
this Code section shall continue in force and effect until
67 the full satisfaction of the pension
obligation as set forth in this Code section. Following
68 verification by an actuary of such
full satisfaction, the ad valorem tax under this Code
69 section shall cease in a special
district, and such special district shall cease to exist."
70 SECTION 2.
71 All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
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