Woodstock Residents Could See Property Tax Increase

Staff Report

The Woodstock City Council has announced plans to raise property taxes by 1.31 percent over the proposed rollback millage rate.

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 Cherokee County 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.

The adopted fiscal year 2015 budget by the council includes a millage rate higher than the rollback millage rate. So, before the Woodstock City Council can finalize the adopted budget and set a final millage rate, Georgia law requires three public hearings to be held to allow the public an opportunity to express their opinions on the increase.

The financial impact on individual parcels may vary, and depends upon the changes in the assessed value from last year.

The Woodstock City Council will consider lowering the millage rate from 7.889 mills to a proposed 7.25 mills.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the Chambers at City Center, located at 8534 Main Street. The hearings are 7 p.m. Aug. 11, 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18 and 6:30 p.m. Aug. 25. A final hearing will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 25.