Description
The City of Brookhaven is in violation of state law regarding the proposed property tax hike.
With home values rising, setting the millage rate at 2.85 mils will result in a tax hike per O.C.G.A. § 48-5-32.1(c)(2).
In proposing this tax hike, the City has violated state law by:
1) Failing to post a press release and the required notice on the City website per O.C.G.A. § 48-5-32.1(c)(2), and
2) Failing to post a press release and the required notice about the tax hike to the City website one week prior to the public meeting per O.C.G.A. § 48-5-32.1(c)(3).
14 Comments
應答 City of Brookhaven City Manager's Office (Registered User)
City of Brookhaven City Manager's Office (Registered User)
Bill (Registered User)
WhoDean (Registered User)
Sandy Murray (Guest)
GTU (Guest)
@WhoDean
Actually, the City must notify if they set the millage rate above the "roll-back" rate.
Per state law, the roll-back rate would result in the same total tax burden. That would be about 2.59 mils not 2.85 mils.
Setting the tax rate at 2.85 mils will result in an additional $700,000 in property taxes taken by the City a.k.a. a tax hike.
Jeff Kellar (Registered User)
Yankee (Registered User)
Rick Ztul (Registered User)
WhoDean (Registered User)
GTU, I stand corrected! However, this roll-back rate adjustment is at the county level, so we have good old DeKalb to watch for compliance. What are our chances they keep their greedy hands off that increase?
https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/adm/taxguide/rights.aspx
Prevention of Indirect Tax Increases
Each year there are two types of value increases made to a county tax digest, increases due to inflation, and increases due to new or improved properties. There are no additional requirements if the levying authority rolls back the millage rate each year to offset any inflationary increases in the digest. If it does not, a local levying authority must notify the public that taxes are being increased.
Local levying authorities would include the county governing authorities, school boards and municipal governing authorities.
The Revenue Commissioner will not authorize the collection of taxes on any digest without a showing by the official submitting the digest that the local levying authorities have complied with the law.
• Rollback of Millage Rate to Offset Inflationary Increases
When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia Law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year's new digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.
If the county elects to set their millage rate higher than the rollback rate, they will be required to hold three public hearings, place notices of the increase in the paper and issue press releases.
• Notification of Tax Increase With Three Public Hearings
The levying authority must hold three public hearings allowing the public input into the proposed increase in taxes. Two of these public hearings may coincide with other required hearings associated with the millage rate process, such as the public hearing required by O.C.G.A Section 36-81-5 when the budget is advertised, and the public hearing required by O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 when the millage rate is finalized. One of the three public hearings must begin between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM in the evening.
• Publish Notice in Paper One Week Before Each Hearing
The levying authority must publish a notice in the paper one week in advance of each of these three public hearings.
• Press Release to Explain Tax Increase
The levying authority must issue a release to the press explaining its intent to increase the taxes.
whoda thunk (Guest)
whoda thunk (Registered User)
Rick Ztul (Registered User)
關閉 City of Brookhaven City Manager's Office (Registered User)