Alpharetta residents should get a lower tax bill this year even as the city scrambles to make up for significant revenue cuts.
The proposed fiscal year 2012 budget calls for keep the tax rate at 5.75 mills while providing property owners an additional $10,000 homestead exemption on their residences.
If adopted next month, Alpharetta's homestead exemption will stand at $40,000, by far the largest among north Fulton's major cities. This would give owner-occupied homes a $40,000 break on taxable value. Couple this with the decline in home values in general, and most homeowners will see a property tax reduction, Alpharetta Finance Director Tom Harris said.
With a fiscal year that runs from July to June, Alpharettans are among the first in metro Atlanta to get a glimpse of their coming tax bills. Most municipalities operate on a calendar year.
For the third consecutive year, Alpharetta faces a decline in its taxable digest -- the property value on which it levies taxes to fund its operations. The billable digest for the city's general fund is expected to fall some $195 million, from $3.95 billion to an estimated $3.75 billion next year. The decline is even sharper in the debt service fund digest, which does not allow for homestead exemptions.
All told, this means the city can count on collecting almost $3 million less in property taxes in the coming year. While that might be good news for homeowners, it leaves the city in a cutback mode.
The city will cut one full-time administrative position and keep another 13 positions unfilled, a cost savings of more than $600,000. Other initiatives, including fuel-efficient cars, solar panels and staff consolidations, should save more than $100,000.
While property tax revenues will decline, the city expects to collect more in fees, fines, licenses and permits. It anticipates another $550,000 in sales tax revenue and an extra $150,000 in delinquent tax collections over last year.
"My city taxes are at or just maybe slightly above when I moved here in 1994," Councilman D.C. Aiken said. "That's impressive, truly impressive, given the growth we've had."
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