Athens homeowners are shouldering more of the burden of funding local government and schools, according to data compiled by the Athens-Clarke Economic Development Foundation.

Clarke County property values have tripled since 1990, growing from $1.2 billion to $3.7 billion.

Residential property was worth $500 million 22 years ago; now, it's $2 billion. Forty-two percent of the tax digest was residential property in 1990; now, it's 52 percent.

The value of commercial and industrial property, land owned by utilities and motor vehicles also rose, but not as much, so they've declined as a share of the total tax base. Commercial property is 31 percent of the tax base, down from 35 percent, and industrial is 7 percent, down one point.

Among counties that are comparable to Athens, Floyd experienced similar changes, Hall and Bibb saw their industrial property values plummet and Lowndes had a slight increase.

The data was part of a presentation EDF President Peggy Chapman recently gave to Mayor Nancy Denson's economic development task force and again to the EDF board of directors on Monday. Chapman said it shows the need for more industrial development in Clarke County to provide tax relief for homeowners.

"I think that's what our goal should be, to have a more balanced tax environment so more of the burden is on your industrial and commercial (property owners)," she said.

Chapman and the EDF board are still trying to get organized after a tumultuous two-year period when the organization went through three chief executives and board members devised, then abandoned, the Blue Heron plan for a taxpayer-funded riverfront development. Matt Forshee, hired in 2010 to replace the retired Drew Page, quit late last year. Mac Brown served as interim CEO until Chapman came on board from Statesboro in April.

Chapman submitted a revised $310,000 budget that boosts funding for membership in professional organizations, training, wooing prospects and emergencies, among other expenses. Board members questioned her about some of the expenses. She said Forshee agreed to pay a data services company $7,500 without seeking board approval, even though the data is available free on the Internet. Editor's note: This paragraph was updated to correct an error misidentifying Forshee as Brown. We regret the error.

A year after several Athens-Clarke commissioners threatened to pull the EDF's funding due to its perceived ineffectiveness, Denson and the commission increased its budget last month. The county will contribute $190,000, up from $150,000. Other funding includes $50,000 and $45,000 from two local bond-issuing authorities and $25,000 from the University of Georgia Research Foundation.