After delay, Fulton County tax bills have been mailed

Residents had complained about high assessments.

After months of delay, Fulton County tax bills were mailed Thursday.

The bills will be due Dec. 31 in Atlanta and Jan. 15 in the rest of Fulton County.

Last week, the county received a temporary collection order allowing them to send the bills even though the state Department of Revenue rejected the county’s tax digest. School systems and local governments said any further delay in collecting taxes would cause them to make drastic cuts.

As it is, Atlanta Public Schools will furlough 1,200 employees this month to help with cash-flow problems as they await tax money. In a statement, the county said money would be distributed to tax recipients weekly to help with cash flow.

Because the bills came after a temporary collection order, it is likely that adjustments will be made in the future after the tax digest is finalized, the county said. Residents who want to claim federal property tax deductions should pay bills early to ensure they are processed.

Property taxes would ordinarily have been paid by now, but Fulton County slowed the process when county commissioners this summer froze most residential values at 2016 levels after residents complained of higher-than-expected property assessments. That decision required new assessment notices to be sent, and resulted in government tax rates that were set later in the year.

The 2017 residential tax bills, in most cases, are based on 2016 assessments.