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City staff outlines proposed 13-mill rate, explains House Bill 581 impacts on assessments
Summary
Finance staff presented the city's proposed 13 millage rate and explained how Georgia's House Bill 581 (assessment limits/CPI indexing) affects residential assessments; staff recommended single public hearing Aug. 18 (with Sept. 2 public hearing also scheduled) and provided examples of tax impacts on sample home values.
Finance staff presented the city’s 2026 millage information Aug. 11 and explained how House Bill 581 — new state law limiting residential assessment adjustments to the consumer price index (CPI) except on sale — affects taxable values and the city’s revenue outlook.
Jeffrey Jackson, the city’s tax expert, summarized legal requirements under O.C.G.A. §48-5-32 for advertisement and rollback calculations and said East Point’s rollback millage rate was computed at about 13.34. The proposed millage rate presented to the county is 13.0, which staff said would place the city below the rollback rate and therefore avoid the special “intent to increase” advertisement and multiple public hearings required if the proposed rate exceeds the rollback.
Staff showed gross assessed values and exemptions: the fiscal-year gross total was reported in the presentation as $2,311,884,624 with exemptions of $355,445,676 (staff said the county’s inclusion this year of Freeport exemptions affected the exempt total). The finance presentation showed that a 13-mill rate would generate approximately $25,433,706 in gross taxes levied — a decline of about $2.74 million (9.72%) from the prior year in net taxes levied — and staff reminded council that the city historically collects 90–92% of levied taxes.
Jackson and staff provided illustrative impact examples of a $500,000, $400,000, and $300,000 home showing modest decreases in annual city property taxes under the 13.0 mill rate when current assessments are lower or CPI adjustments apply to homesteaded residences.
Councilmembers asked for clarification about how the new assessment limitations affect revenue forecasting, whether alternative millage scenarios would be presented in the budget process and how shortfalls might be addressed. Staff said the budget currently assumes conservative collection rates and that non-property revenue tools — sales tax and other fees — and contract/service revenue increases were among the levers under review; staff also said an adopted budget book would be posted online before the end of August.
The council set a single advertised public hearing for Sept. 2 (the Aug. 18 meeting was cited for scheduling and county filing discussion) and asked finance to provide additional scenario modeling, including different millage options and revenue projections, for follow-up review.
