Yesterday’s August 6th Fulton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting proves two important facts:

(1) We the People can make a difference,

(2) elections matter.

Previous Commissioners’ Vote to Increase the Millage Rate

Previously, on June 18, 2025, four democratic commissioners (Mo Ivory, Marvin Arrington, Dana Barrett, and Khadijah Abdur-Rahman) voted to increase the millage rate up to 9.87, a full mil above the previously approved rate of 8.87, in spite of Commissioner Bridget Thorne, Vice Chair Bob Ellis, and Chair Robert Pitts, who all voted against the motion.

Fulton County Financial Crisis?

The motion to raise the millage rate was initiated by commissioner Ivory, who claimed Fulton County was in financial crisis, even though Fulton credit rating was recently raised to AAA, the county has more than adequate financial reserves, and the county has current 2025 expenditures trending under budget, with an anticipated end of year surplus.

Mo Ivory defeated incumbent Natalie Hall in the Democratic Party runoff for Commission District 4 (Atlanta), on June 18, 2024, and assumed office on January 1, 2025, for a four-year term ending December 31, 2028.

Before losing to Ivory, Natalie Hall cost the Fulton County taxpayers nearly $1 million dollars due to a civil sexual discrimination claim brought by her former chief of staff Calvin Brock, who claimed he was fired in retaliation for breaking up with Hall after a year-long love affair.

Now it appears that Hall’s replacement Mo Ivory is trying to outdo Hall by costing the taxpayers about $79 million dollars by proposing to increase the millage rate by a full mil, from 8.87 to 9.87 mils. This is $78 million more than what Hall cost the taxpayers in 2024. To justify this additional taxpayer burden, Ivory stated: “If we had more, then we could do more.”

Unfortunately for the taxpayers, Ivory will not have to run for reelection until 2028.

Motion Seconded

Ivory’s motion to raise the millage rate to 9.87 was seconded my commissioner Arrington who pointed out that we need the extra money as a financial “cushion.”

Coincidentally, Arrington was not seated in person with his colleagues during the August 6th BOC meeting due to the fact that he was out-of-town visiting Matha’s Vineyard at taxpayer expense at the time. Perhaps this explains his desire to increase the tax burden of the residents of Fulton County, since Matha’s Vineyard is probably quite an expensive place to visit.

In addition, commissioner Abdur-Rahman and commissioner Dana Barrett also made statements in support of the higher rate proposed by Ivory and seconded by Arrington.

Fortunately for the taxpayers, who are also voters, the democratic commissioners who voted for commissioner Ivory’s proposed tax increase, are up for re-election in 2026. And rumor has it that Arrington and Barrett are running to unseat Rob Pitts as chair.

This might explain why all three of these commissioners changed their minds after thousands of taxpayers voiced their opposition to this unnecessary tax hike.

What was originally a 4-3 vote in favor of the tax hike, became a 6-1 vote to keep the 8.87 millage rate unchanged after dozens of Fulton residents spoke in-person and on-line against this tax hike, and 1000s of Fulton County residents, through phone calls and emails, made their voices heard in opposition to any increase of the millage rate.

This shows without a doubt that when the people get involved and come together to voice their opposition to bad legislative proposals, that our elected officials pay attention, at least when they are up for reelection.

Special Thanks to Commissioner Thorne and Vice Chair Ellis

Special thanks to commissioner Thorne and Vice Chair Ellis for consistently speaking and voting against any increase in the millage rate, and for holding town hall meetings with north Fulton residents to educate and inform the taxpayers about this vital issue of concern to all.

While chair Pitts took the right action in this matter, often he does not always vote as he should. A great example of this is the recent failure of Pitts to appoint the Republican party nominees Jason Frazier and Julie Adams to the Fulton Board of Registration and Elections (BRE).

BOC Forced to Do Their Job

This failure has forced the Republican party to take legal action to compel the BOC to do its job of allowing both major parties equal representation on the BRE. The August 3, 2025 ruling by Fulton Superior Court judge David Emerson confirms the failure of the BOC to follow the law. See the ruling HERE.

Legal Representation

If this problem is not resolved soon, it may lead to additional legal action and wasteful spending by the BOC. Both major political parties have the right by law to have equal representation on the BRE by qualified nominees of their own choosing, without political partisanship by the BOC.

Our Republican commissioners Bridget Thorne and Bob Ellis voted to appoint both democratic nominees as they should have. Likewise, the Democratic commissioners should vote to appoint the Republican nominees in the spirit of fairness and justice.

Contact the Commissioners