Woodstock Council to Set Property Tax Rate

The Woodstock City Council on Monday will consider setting its 2014 millage rate.

The meeting will get underway at 7 p.m. at the Chambers at City Center.

Before its meeting, however, the Council will hold the last of three public hearings so residents can voice their thoughts on the city’s proposed millage rate. That hearing will start at 6:30 p.m. at the Chambers. The council will vote to adopt the rates during its regular meeting.

City staff members are recommending to the council the city rollback its millage rate from 7.889 mills to a proposed 7.25 mills.

Each year, the Cherokee County Tax Assessor is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the city.

When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in Woodstock indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the tax assessor is required by law to re-determine the value of such property and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment.

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.

Since Woodstock’s proposed rate was higher than the initial rollback rate of 7.156, Woodstock property owners were slated a tax increase.

However, according to information provided in Monday’s meeting agenda packet, a decrease in the net digest’s value for the county has moved the rollback rate to 7.26 mills.

Since Woodstock’s proposed rate would fall below the rollback rate, most residents may not see a property tax increase.

Council members will also review the design concept for its proposed amphitheater and review the proposed Towne Lake/Arnold Mill widening.

The complete agenda can be viewed on the city’s website.