Atlanta Press Releases category interest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Cobb County officials are proposing a property tax increase this year.

On Tuesday, the Cobb County Board of Commissioners announced “it intends to increase the property taxes it will levy this year, over the rollback millage rate, by 9.01%.”

In a press release, the board explained the process of reassessing property taxes and what a “rollback” millage rate is.

“Each year, the Board of Tax Assessors is required by Georgia law 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 or decrease 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 adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment,” the press release states. “When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia law requires that a ‘rollback’ millage rate must be computed according to specific instructions issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue. This hypothetical ‘rollback’ millage rate would have produced the same total tax revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.”

“The continued recovery of the Cobb real estate market is the primary reason for this modest growth in property values and this corresponding increase in the county’s property tax digest.”

Commissioners said they’re proposing the property tax millage rate of the general fund be set at 8.46; the fire millage rate at 2.99; the debt service, or bond fund, millage at 0.00; the Cumberland special services district II millage rate at 2.45; and the Six Flags special service district millage rate at 3.50.

Because the 2024 proposed millage is higher than the recently calculated rollback millage rate, state law requires that three public hearings be held to allow the public to express their opinions on the increase before commissioners set the final 2024 millage rates, commissioners said.

The three public hearings will be held at the Board of Commissioners meeting room at 100 Cherokee Street, Marietta, on Tuesday, July 9, at 9 a.m., Tuesday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m., and Tuesday, July 23, at 7 p.m.

Commissioners said they’ll adopt the 2024 property tax millage rates following the third public hearing.