DeKalb County officials announced at a July 8 press conference that it will make its largest housing investment to date in the fiscal year 2027 budget.
The $105.2 million budget creates the county’s first dedicated housing office and includes $12 million to launch a Housing Investment Fund. The fund will receive $15 million annually starting in fiscal year 2028.
T. J. Sigler, the director of DeKalb County’s Office of Management & Budget, said the county’s property millage rate will increase to 21.31 mills, up from last year’s 20.81 mills. One mill represents a tax liability of $1 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.
The millage rate increase will generate about $20 million in additional funds, Sigler said.
CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson said the housing investment reflects requests from residents.
“This is about creating long-term solutions, not short-term fixes,” Cochran-Johnson said at the press conference. “Our residents have asked us to invest in housing, strengthen our communities, and plan for the future. This investment answers that call.”
County leaders said the funding comes at a critical time. A 2023 study found DeKalb trails many metro Atlanta communities in affordable, workforce, market-rate, and senior housing.
“I often say that a budget is a moral document that you can tell what is important to an individual by where they place two things,” Cochran-Johnson said at the event. “That’s their time and their money. We want to be transparent about what we have approved and more importantly, how that investment will be used to benefit our more than 780,000 DeKalb County residents.”
The fund is expected to support the creation or preservation of 15,000 housing units through several initiatives, including down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, home repair assistance for long-time and legacy homeowners, financing tools for affordable and workforce housing, partnerships with faith-based organizations, and expanded services for residents experiencing homelessness, according to a release from the county.
Chief Housing Officer Dr. Alan Ferguson said the fund is designed to serve a broad range of residents.
“Our goal is to create opportunity for everyone from first-time homebuyers and long-time homeowners to working families, seniors, and residents experiencing homelessness,” Ferguson said in the release.
The press conference also outlined other fiscal year 2027 investments in public safety, health care, workforce development, and infrastructure, including:
- $1 million for the county arts council;
- $2.5 million workforce development initiative;
- $600,000 for summer youth employment;
- $1.5 million for Mosiac Health, which offers medical treatment to low-income and senior residents;
- $19-an-hour minimum wage for county workers
- $1 million for recycling efforts;
- $780,000 to enhance animal services, including spay-and-neuter programs;
- funding to build a second animal shelter on the south side of the county;
- $500,000 for food insecurity.
Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry called the 2027 budget “no fluff” and said that county officials are “cutting back where it makes sense and doubling down when we see positive compounding outcomes.”
