One of Georgia’s largest counties considers battling blight with tax

MACON, Ga. — One of Georgia’s largest communities could soon see a tax on its most downtrodden properties.

The Telegraph reports that the so-called blight tax being considered by the consolidated Macon-Bibb government is aimed at getting owners to clean up or remove dilapidated buildings.

The blight tax, which is scheduled to be discussed by the Macon-Bibb County Commission on Tuesday, would be in the form of a higher property tax in the central Georgia community.

The tax would be one step aimed at addressing a countywide problem, Commissioner Joe Allen said. The tax would be assessed to owners of the “worst of the worst” unoccupied residential and commercial properties, he said.

“I feel like we have everything in place to put this into effect as soon as possible,” Allen said. “I want blight gone in Macon-Bibb County.”

The blight tax proposal is modeled after a program that’s been in place in Savannah the past two years, the Macon newspaper reported. Altogether, the city has charged $158,000 in blight tax to 118 properties, according to Savannah’s public information officer.

Macon-Bibb County now has about 1,566 structures categorized as being in poor condition or are suggested for demolition, according to figures from the MaconBibb blight consultant Cass Hatcher.