No Discounts Likely for Early Payment of Property Taxes This Fall

DeKalb County property owners got a discount last fall for paying their property taxes in October or November, but don’t look for that this year.
Although Trustee Sean Driver has proposed to the county budget committee that the discounts be offered again this year, County Mayor Mike Foster told the local media Friday that it is unlikely that the county could afford to do it this year, because “our fund balances are being hit a little more”.
Last year, Trustee Driver proposed offering a two percent discount to those who paid their taxes in October and a one percent discount for taxes paid in November. The savings to county taxpayers, who took advantage of it, came to a total of $31,165.
Foster says the county does plan to offer again local property tax relief of up to $50 for those who qualify for the state property tax relief program, a proposal which was presented by Trustee Driver last year and approved by county commission. Driver has asked that the extra tax relief be granted for another year. The costs to the county would be about $18,000, according to the proposed new budget.