Board votes to certify current millage as estimated rollback rate; staff warned of billing and communication impacts

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted 5-1 on Feb. 19 to certify the county's current millage rate (8.87) as the county's estimated rollback rate under provisions of House Bill 581, a state law that requires taxing jurisdictions to provide an 'estimated rollback rate' for assessment notices.

Madam CFO Sharon (presenting) said the statute requires each levying authority to certify an estimate of its rollback rate before the digest is finalized and that the estimated number must appear on property assessment notices in 2025. The county does not yet have reassessment-value data from the tax assessor and therefore cannot calculate the statutory rollback rate; staff proposed certifying the current millage (8.87) as a reasonable estimate because the adopted 2025 budget assumed a flat millage.

The tax commissioner, Denzel (last name in transcript), told the board the change will require significant administrative work: redesigning tax bills and preparing new notices, and that staff must allow time to procure paper and account for additional call volume from taxpayers. He said a major operational task will be ensuring a new printed message can be inserted on bills where multiple taxing jurisdictions bill on a single paper bill.

Commissioners debated tradeoffs. Supporters of certifying 8.87 said it is a conservative and transparent estimate in the absence of digest data and that the board can still adopt any lawful final millage rate later in the year; opponents worried certifying a low estimate could force a notice on the final tax bill if the county adopts a higher final millage, and several commissioners said they wished staff and the board had more time before adopting the budget and this estimate.

Commissioner Eric (voting no) said the consent-decree costs and other pressures make a higher millage likely and opposed certifying the current rate. Chair Rob Pitts, Vice Chair Bob Ellis and others argued certifying the current rate meets the statutory deadline and preserves the board's option to set a final rate once the digest is complete.

Outcome and next steps: The motion to certify 8.87 passed 5-1. Staff warned the board and the public that if the board later adopts a final millage higher than this estimate, tax bills will display a statutory statement noting the final millage exceeds the estimated rollback rate; staff described lead times for bill redesign and additional taxpayer inquiries. County staff said the board will still follow the normal millage-setting procedure later in the year and will advertise and hold hearings if the board's proposed final millage exceeds the statutorily calculated rollback rate.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to continue outreach to taxing jurisdictions and to work with the tax commissioner and tax assessor on timing and bill formatting; staff said the tax commissioner had requested certified estimates by March 1.