Millage Rate Hearings Set For Fulton Schools, Rate Reduction

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The Fulton County Board of Education will hold three millage rate public hearings to fund the 2022 budget with a partial millage rollback to offset increases in property assessments. The proposed millage rate for next year will reduce the current millage rate from 17.796 to 17.590, and if approved in August, will continue to be metro Atlanta’s lowest school tax rate for the 12 straight year.

“In spite of the economic impacts created by a global pandemic, we are pleased to announce the Fulton County Schools’ financial status is strong enough to provide a reduction in the millage rate for the property owners in our community,” Board President Julia Bernath said in a news release. “We are also grateful for the financial support from our federal and state officials, which is being directed to the additional tasks of learning recovery with new programs and focus.”

Even though Fulton County Schools’ tentative millage rate of 17.590 mills is a reduction, it is legally defined as a tax increase because it does not equal a full millage rollback to offset increases in property assessments.

As a result, Georgia’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights requires three millage rate public hearings to be held.

• July 22, 6 p.m., South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road, Union City
• August 12, 11 a.m., North Learning Center, 450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs
• August 12, 6 p.m., North Learning Center, 450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs

The School Board is expected to adopt the final millage rate on Aug. 12, following the third public hearing. More information on the proposed rates, including the required notice by the Georgia Department of Revenue, is listed below, and on the district's website.

Proposed Property Tax Increase

The Fulton County Board of Education recently announced its intention to increase the 2021 property taxes it will levy this year by 3.12 percentage over the rollback millage rate.

Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county. When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and increase and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment.

When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia Law requires a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

The budget approved by the Fulton County Board of Education requires a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate; therefore, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase. The rate increase is in relation to the rollback millage rate but is a decrease to our current millage rate. The district is recommending a reduction from its current millage rate of 17.796 to 17.590.

The public hearings on this tax increase will be held:

• 6 p.m. on July 22, at South Learning Center, 4025 Flat Shoals Road, Union City
• 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Aug. 12, at North Learning Center, 450 Northridge Parkway, Sandy Springs