DeKalb residents balk at property tax plan

DECATUR - A property tax proposal didn&#39;t go over well with residents at a public meeting Tuesday night in DeKalb County. <br> <br> About 400 people gathered to discuss the proposed 2002 budget. DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones wants homeowners to pay property taxes for the first time in three years to the county&#39;s general operating fund. <br> <br> Under his plan, a person whose home is valued at $300,000 would pay $341 to the county. Jones said that DeKalb homeowners still would pay less in property taxes than homeowners in Cobb, Gwinnett and Fulton counties. <br> <br> ``We don&#39;t care about over there,&#39;&#39; some residents said Tuesday night. ``We don&#39;t live there.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Many in the audience live in an area of north DeKalb that did not support Jones in his candidacy for CEO in 2000. <br> <br> ``He&#39;s not doing what&#39;s necessary to reduce spending,&#39;&#39; Dunwoody resident Bob Dallas said. <br> <br> In 1997, DeKalb voters approved a 1 percent sales tax designed to pay for street repairs and other projects normally paid by property taxes. Officials estimate sales tax revenue fell short in 2001 by an estimated $3 million of what is needed to provide complete property tax relief to DeKalb homeowners. <br> <br> Some suggested the county should ask residential developers to pay impact fees as a way to bring more money to the county. <br> <br> County commissioners will decide whether or not to give complete property tax relief next month when they vote on the budget.