It’s the day after Election Day – Local edition

November 6, 2024

As I mentioned yesterday, I was closely following the local races.

BIG WIN: The proposed 30 year transit tax was vetoed by a majority of voters.

School Board: The more moderate candidates (both D & R) won in their respective races. Hopefully, this will lessen the political bickering among board members.

Unfortunately, the Commission Chair and Clerk of Superior Court were both re-elected to serve another four years. This means we’ll see the transit tax initiative reappear or the chairwoman will find other ways to force funding for her pet project of bus service to every nook and cranny of the county (even though hardly anyone rides the main routes the transit system now serves). The Clerk of Superior Court screwed things up so bad that a judge had to step in and place a 30 day moratorium on case filings in the county – not once, but twice. These folks were returned to office by the same voters who regularly complain about them. It’s not like they had no other well-qualified options from which to choose, either.

For everything else, we were drawn into all new districts this year to comply with a federal judge’s order to create a majority black Congressional district on the westside of Atlanta. Other than Lucy McBath’s race, all of our candidates ran unopposed. There was zero outreach from any candidate – D or R. Perhaps candidates felt they didn’t need to because there were no opponents in their races? Or not knowing what to do since it was an all new untested district? Who knows? Time will tell. Meh.

From a business perspective:

I expect fees and costs to do business with the county as a resident or business owner to increase. The chairwoman has stated this much in previous media interviews. After all, the county has to pay for services she’s promised to certain constituents.

On a statewide ballot referendum, the personal property exemption for businesses increased to from $6k to $20k, starting January 1st, which I think is good. I’m tempted to upgrade student sewing machines, add more cutting dies and/or invest in a small sublimination printer.

Anyhow, I’m glad the elections are over. The ads, phone calls and texts have finally stopped.

Think I’ll stream my fave sewing shows on YouTube while I piece snowball blocks this rainy afternoon.

It’s Election Day

November 5, 2024

Hopefully, this also means all the annoying political ads will finally stop.

If you didn’t vote early, make a plan a plan to get to the polls today. You showing up to be part of the political process does count and makes a difference.

I’ll be closely following the local election returns tonight. Hopefully the candidates with common sense and ability (Democrat and Republican) will oust some of the current incumbents.

The national election results probably won’t be decided for days. If your prefered candidate doesn’t win (I agree the pickings were slim this year), act like a grown-up and go about your business. Channel your energy into positive ways to make your local community a better place to be. Remember how people came together to help one another after Hurricanes Helene and Milton? How about we keep this spirit of collegiality alive as we move forward?

Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

Property appeal update

November 5, 2024

Last week, the property assessor’s office sent two field techs to remeasure our home. Today, I heard back from the appraiser regarding our new value based on the corrected measurements. It’s actually better than the value I’d requested and is totally in line with the neighbor’s house most like ours. There’s paperwork to be signed if I agreed with the valuation. You bet I signed that paperwork and sent it right back electronically!

Now, we wait for the revised value to go through the approvals process and our tax bill to be revised. I paid the appeal amount in mid-October. Looks like I’ll owe them $400 more, which is still significantly less than our original tax bill.

Our assessed value will be frozen for three years. I was cautioned that the freeze might cause a significant increase once the it’s lifted in 2027. Fine by me. We’ll be at the magic age to be exempt from paying school taxes by then. Any increase in value really won’t impact us that much from a property tax standpoint.

Take away: Check to make sure your property appraiser has the correct information on file for your home. Mistakes happen. If you don’t understand how to read your property card, call them (preferably outside of tax season).

I’m glad I listened to my gut insisting something wasn’t right. The final outcome was definitely worth all the prep work.