The City of Savannah will consider adopting a 2024 millage rate of 12.2 mills. A millage rate of 12.2 mills is unchanged from the 2023 adopted millage rate and is also the same millage rate used to develop the City’s 2024 budget plan. By maintaining the millage rate at 12.2 mills, the City will maintain the lowest property rate since 1987.
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 9.00 percent over the rollback millage rate for properties that increased in valuation and have not obtained a Stephens-Day exemption. The 9.00 percent increase over the rollback millage rate will equal the tax rate adopted in 2023 of 12.2 mills.
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 12.2 mills is an increase of 1.004 mills over the rollback millage rate of 11.196 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 $40.16 and the proposed tax increase for a non-Stephens-Day exemption property with a fair market value of $500,000 is approximately $200.80.
Georgia law requires the city to advertise the rate of 12.2 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 unchanged from 2023, as seen in the chart that follows. The proposed millage rate of 12.2 mills represents maintaining the lowest tax rate since 1987.
Should the city council choose to adopt the 12.2 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 Thursday, July 11 at 10:00 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. or Thursday, July 25 at 2:00 p.m.
The public may offer comment in one of two ways:
- Anyone with interest in speaking on this agenda item may submit evidence, including written comments, to [email protected] or by calling (912) 651-6441. Written comments become public record and are shared with the Mayor and Aldermen prior to the council meeting.
- Members of the public may come to City Hall council chambers to share their thoughts with City Council.
