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Public invited to millage rate hearings

• 2021 tax digest and five-year history
• 2021 notice of property tax increase
• 2021 notice of property tax increase

SAVANNAH (July 13) - The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah are considering adopting a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 2.73 percent over the rollback millage rate. The 2.73 percent increase over the rollback millage rate will maintain the current tax rate of 12.739 mills. The Mayor and Aldermen are simultaneously considering the rollback millage rate of 12.401 mills but notice of the potential for maintaining the current millage rate must be given per state law.

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 digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred. The proposed millage rate of 12.739 mills is an increase of .338 mills over the rollback millage rate of 12.401 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $100,000 is approximately $12.84 and the proposed tax increase for a non-homestead property with a fair market value of $500,000 is approximately $67.60.

Georgia law requires the city to advertise the rate of 12.739 as a tax “increase” because the rollback rate might not be adopted. While the anticipated revenues derived from this rate are higher than the rollback rate, the proposed rate itself remains unchanged from 2020, as seen in the chart that follows. The proposed millage rate of 12.739 mills represents a 27 percent reduction in Savannah’s property tax rate over the past 25 years.

Should the city council choose to adopt the 12.739 rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase over the rollback rate.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on the property tax rate at City Hall, located at 2 E. Bay St., on July 22 at 4 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. or Aug. 12 at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m.

The public may offer comment in one of two ways:

1. Anyone with interest in speaking on this agenda item may submit evidence, including written comments, to ClerkofCouncil@savannahga.gov or by calling (912) 651-6441. Written comments become public record and are shared with the Mayor and Aldermen prior to the council meeting.
2. Members of the public may come to City Hall council chambers to join the meeting via a Zoom connection.