City of Savannah
Office of Marketing and Communications 
email  

City of Savannah to consider maintaining millage rate at lowest level since 1987

SAVANNAH (June 12) – The City of Savannah will soon consider maintaining its current millage rate, which is the lowest rate since 1987. While the proposed rate of 12.20 mills does exceed the rollback rate, the amount above the rollback is necessary to provide funding for key infrastructure initiatives, primarily focused on stormwater projects. 

As required in state law, this news release serves as a notice that the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah are considering adopting a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 9.72 percent over the rollback millage rate for properties that increased in valuation and have not obtained a Stephens-Day exemption. The 9.72 percent increase over the rollback millage rate will maintain the current tax rate of 12.20 mills, which was adopted in 2022. 

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 12.20 mills is an increase of 1.081 mills over the rollback millage rate of 11.119 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home that does not have Stephens-Day exemption with a fair market value of $100,000 is approximately $43.24 and the proposed tax increase for a non-Stephens-Day exemption property with a fair market value of $500,000 is approximately $216.20.

Georgia law requires the city to advertise the rate of 12.20 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 is equal to the 2022 rate, as seen in the attached chart. The proposed millage rate of 12.20 mills represents maintaining the lowest tax rate since 1987.

Should the city council choose to adopt the 12.20 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 June 22 at 6:30 p.m., and July 27 at 10 a.m. and 6:30 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 the Clerk of Council by email 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 share their thoughts with City Council. 

View the the historical millage rates below and  Click here to view the current 2023 Tax Digest and Five Year History of Levy

City of Savannah Millage Rates