The Sandy Springs City Council voted to keep the millage rate for property taxes at the same rate as established in the city charter, 4.731 mills. However, that effectively serves as a tax increase due to rising property assessments.
The third and final public hearing on the millage rate was held in a special meeting on Aug. 22. No public comment was received, and the council adopted the millage rate.
The city was formed with the principle that any millage rate increase would require approval by city residents at the ballot box.
An increase in property assessments will result in an 8 percent increase in city property taxes, according to a presentation to the council.
The 2023 ad valorem tax digest millage rates for nearby cities, the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate local property taxes, included:
- Atlanta: 8.520 M&O plus 1.880 bond
- Alpharetta: 4.951 M&O plus 0.799 bond
- Milton: 4.469 M&O plus 0.452 bond
- Sandy Springs: 4.731
- Roswell: 4.463
- Johns Creek: 3.986 M&O plus 0.390 bond
Sandy Springs offers a $15,000 basic homestead exemption, plus a 3 percent CPI (consumer price index) exemption. CPI limits the annual increase of a homeowner’s base property assessment to 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less.
City Manager Eden Freeman confirmed that homestead exemptions would be a topic of discussion during the council retreat in January 2024.
“We are looking to get some assistance from our financial advisor on doing a more robust calculation on what it would look like if there was a desire to change the homestead exemption on that variable,” she said.
Other homestead exemptions in the area range from Roswell, which doesn’t offer a city exemption, to the $45,000 available in Alpharetta, according to the presentation. Fulton County Schools offers a $2,000 homestead exemption, plus a 3 percent floating homestead.
