Fulton County hears hours of public opposition to proposed property-tax increase as debate over Westside TAD intensifies

Hundreds of Fulton County residents crowded the July 9 meeting of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to oppose a proposed increase in the county's property tax rate and to press commissioners to protect affordable housing programs in the Westside Tax Allocation District (TAD).

Speakers told Chairman Rob Pitts and the six commissioners that an advertised increase from 8.87 to 9.87 millsa0(what county staff said would be a 12.49% increase on present rates if adopted) would force seniors and working families from their homes and deepen affordability problems already visible across the county.

The argument recurred across dozens of public commenters: keeping the county's budget solvent should not fall disproportionately on homeowners and renters. Jody Reishel, a Sandy Springs city councilor and property owner in Fulton County, told the panel the change "is a difference between stability and displacement" for many tenants. Jamie Parish, another speaker, said the increase would hit…