The Sandy Springs City Council will hold its third and final public hearing on its proposed millage rate for fiscal year 2024 on Tuesday.
The council will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Aug. 22 in the Barfield Conference Room at Sandy Springs City Hall, 1 Galambos Way.
The proposed millage rate of 4.731 mills equates to an 8.01 percent tax increase because it will not be revenue neutral compared to fiscal year 2023.
“The amount that the FY 24 budget which started on July 1 is based upon is the amount established by the city charter at 4.731. mills. We have to advertise this under Georgia law as a tax increase. The rollback rate would result in a revenue-neutral number of 4.381 mills,” City Manager Eden Freeman said at the start of the second public hearing on Aug. 15.
The city charter states that the millage rate shall not exceed 4.731 unless the council approves a resolution recommending a higher limit and Sandy Springs voters approve it.
Increased property assessments without a rollback in the tax rate will cause a property tax hike.
Sandy Springs offers a $15,000 homestead exemption plus a 3 percent CPI (consumer price index) exemption. CPI limits the annual increase of a base property assessment to 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less, according to a report presented to the city council.
