Johns Creek Property Tax Hearing Set For Aug. 29

JOHNS CREEK, GA -- A public hearing to give residents the opportunity to speak out about the 2016 millage rate will be held on Monday.

Citizens are invited to come out and express their opinions during the hearing, which will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 29 at Johns Creek City Hall.

The city is in the midst of establishing its 2016 millage rate, which is proposed at 4.614, the same rate it's had since its Dec. 1, 2006, incorporation. City leaders are expected to formally adopt the rate Monday evening following the hearing.

• You can view the city's five-year history of its tax digest, property revenues and millage rate by clicking here.

To establish a millage rate, the city first receives a tax digest from Fulton County, which consolidates the reassessments of property values from 2015 to 2016. This information is typically sent to the city in June of each year.

However, due to calculation errors in the Fulton County Tax Appraisers office, Johns Creek didn’t receive the tax digest from the county until Aug. 10.

"This significant delay has created a time crunch for the tax commissioner to deliver the annual tax bills to the citizens," the city states.

At the Aug. 15 Council meeting, the elected officials discussed their desire to hold three public hearings to seek public input regarding the millage rate.

This would have been above and beyond the legal requirement to hold one public hearing, as there were no increase in reassessments this year. Since that time, the county tax commissioner has urged each taxing entity in Fulton County to submit their adopted millage rates to the county by Sept. 1.

Several tax entities in Fulton County, including the Fulton County School System, depend on the remittance of property tax dollars in the fall to preserve a healthy cash flow.

If the county receives each taxing entities’ adopted millage rates by Sept. 1, property tax revenue will be collected by Nov. 15.

A delay in getting the bills out will extend that collection date into December or January, which would create a significant burden on the school system.

While the city regularly endeavors to provide enhanced opportunities for public input into key policy decisions, "it is choosing to lend a hand to cooperate with its neighbors to get the millage rate adopted Aug. 29 so that tax collections can be completed in November," the city said.

The hearing will be held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, which are located at 12000 Findley Road Suite 300.

---

Image via Shutterstock