Thursday, April 8, 2010

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Profiles in Taxpayer Advocacy: Dougherty County Taxpayers Association


John Stephenson

April 1, 2010

From time to time, I’ll profile a local taxpayer advocate or advocacy organization to highlight their efforts fighting for lower taxes, less spending, and more transparency. For my first profile, I choose the Dougherty County Taxpayers Association (DCTA). Founded in June 2007, DCTA has been working to educate the citizens of Dougherty County, Georgia about their rights as taxpayers and engage them to better oversee county government tax and budget policies. In addition, DCTA has challenged the constitutionality of the county’s property tax system in court to make it fairer for taxpayers.


There is no question that Georgia, like many states, needs steadfast watchdogs for taxpayers. While some purported fiscal conservatives in Georgia have attacked “broad-based” tax increases, they have quietly been raising fees, proposing “revenue enhancements,” targeting new excise taxes, and coming up with other tax-hiking gimmicks. But make no mistake; these are tax increases by another name. NTU and groups like DCTA are involved in ongoing efforts at the local and state levels to prevent these and other tax increases that burden hard-working Georgia taxpayers.


Although DCTA is relatively new, already it has achieved some notable successes on behalf of taxpayers. DCTA has successfully advocated for reductions in Dougherty County property tax rates, halted an illegal $6 million “no strings attached” bond issue, and sought accountability for nearly $4 million missing from the local school lunch program.


Currently, DCTA is researching corruption in the county government and in the city of Albany, Georgia. As part of their efforts, DCTA has drafted “A Contract With the Citizens of Albany & Dougherty County, GA” for elected officials and candidates to sign. In addition, DCTA sponsors legal workshops for property owners to educate them about how to challenge disputed property values. You can read about this effort and others on DCTA’s website by clicking here



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