Sandy Springs homeowners will see property tax increase

Homeowners in Sandy Springs will pay 4% more in property taxes this year due to a rise in property values.

Sandy Springs City Council voted Aug. 17 to keep the city’s tax rate at $4.73 per $1,000 of appraised value, which is the maximum rate allowed under the city charter. The city has not altered its property tax rate since it was incorporated in 2005, Sandy Springs spokesman Dan Coffer said in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A property owner whose home has a fair market value of $400,000 with a homestead exemption would pay an increase of $31.50, according to the city. Without the exemption, the increase would be $33.60. Sandy Springs did not provide the total amount such a homeowner would pay.

“It is the increase in the value that increases the property tax not the millage rate,” Coffer said. “Keep in mind, we are only a small part of the overall tax pie ...,” he later added.

Documents provided by the city show the value of taxable property in Sandy Springs has risen about 32.5% since 2016. Thus, even with the tax rate remaining constant, the amount paid each year by property owners has increased substantially. In 2016, the city levied $33.3 million in property taxes compared to $44.2 million in 2021.

A Sandy Springs 2022 fiscal year budget summary for the general fund, which pays for city services, shows an anticipated $106 million in revenue, down from $108 million last year. Leading general fund expenditures include police at $23 million, up from $21.6 million. Other areas boosted in the 2022 budget include information technology, recreation and parks and community development.

In June, a proposed budget also including capital and special revenue funds totaled about $145 million.

Home prices across metro Atlanta’s 28 counties soared 17% between March 2020, when the pandemic began, and March 2021, according to Re/Max Around Atlanta. That pushed the median sales price to $308,045.

Tax bills paid by homeowners are a combination of city, county and school taxes. Municipalities set their own tax rates on top of the county’s, in order to pay for services provided by each city.

“By leaving the millage rate the same, we continue to ensure superior, responsive customer service and the high quality of services to the residents of Sandy Springs,” said city Finance Director Toni Jo Howard in a memo.