Kelly Stewart and Brad Raffensperger both voted to raise property taxes in Johns Creek, and here is the proof.
As a Councilwoman for Johns Creek, Kelly Stewart led the charge to raise your property taxes1 in Johns Creek this past June.
Her vote2 raised property taxes approximately $300 THOUSAND, bringing Johns Creek taxes to a whopping $17.3 MILLION!
She and her cronies on the City Council even tried to imply that it wasn’t really a tax hike because the millage rate had not changed!
But we know better!
As housing prices slowly recover from the Great Recession the assessed values of properties have also risen.
With these higher assessed property values, state law requires the City to do one of three things:
*** Lower the tax rate such that property owners get a tax break,
*** Set the tax rate to a “roll-back” rate that would keep the tax burden at the current level, or
*** Raise the tax rate above the “roll-back” rate and advertise this decision as the tax hike that it is.
Councilwoman Kelly Stewart chose to raise taxes on property owners!
Concerned citizens at the tax hearings pointed this out to the City council, but Councilwoman Kelly Stewart refused to listen.
The result is that Johns Creek taxes skyrocketed to $17.3 MILLION for the 2014 fiscal year.
Brad Raffensperger has been trumpeting Councilwoman Stewart’s vote to raise taxes in 2014, but as a Councilman for Johns Creek Brad Raffensperger has also voted to raise property taxes.
Faced with the same decision in 2013, both Councilwoman Kelly Stewart and Councilman Brad Raffensperger voted to raise property taxes3 by refusing to adopt the “roll-back” rate4.
That tax hike took another $588 THOUSAND per year from Johns Creek property owners.
You and I have to carefully budget our families’ expenses and live within our means.
We can’t simply demand more money from our employers and force them to pay up.
But Councilwoman Kelly Stewart and Councilman Brad Raffensperger have done just that with their votes to raise your property taxes.
How much more can your wallet–and more importantly your family–withstand?
1 Notice of Property Tax Increase for the City of Johns Creek published 16 June 2014
2 City of Johns Creek meeting minutes for 14 July 2014, Ordinance 2014-07-25
3 Notice of Property Tax Increase for the City of Johns Creek published 27 June 2013
4 City of Johns Creek meeting minutes for 22 July 2013, Ordinance 2013-07-21