Austell keeps same property tax rate

Austell’s millage rate will remain the same at 3.25 mills from July 1 to June 30, 2022.

However later this year, property taxes may or may not decrease, depending on the properties’ assessed valuation done by Cobb County, according to Austell City Clerk Elizabeth Young in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Austell budget for Fiscal Year 2022 was approved 6-0 by the Austell City Council on June 7.

Major changes in this new budget are:

· An increase in healthcare premiums of 10 percent, beginning Jan. 1, 2022, for the city’s employees.

· Completion of removal of the last two pump stations.

These increases will be funded primarily by additional franchise fees, property tax revenues and the fund balance, according to the city’s Finance Director Denise Lowe in a June 7 memo to Austell Mayor Ollie Clemons Jr. and the City Council.