Fulton to keep taxes steady, tighten belt

Commissioners Marvin Arrington Jr. and Dana Barrett voted against keeping the rate steady, while Commissioner Natalie Hall abstained. County staff proposed keeping the rate unchanged on the expectation that the tax digest would grow in value by 7%, Finance Director Hakeem Oshikoya said. But values are only up by 6.35% this year. Thus, keeping the rate the same will leave the county $12 million short of what’s needed to balance the budget, assuming a 96% tax collection rate, Oshikoya said. It also means the county will have to trim costs...