The city of Dunwoody will consider setting the millage rate for real estate at a maximum of 2.74 mills following the recent revaluation of real property tax assessments, preserving the same millage rate since incorporation in 2008.
According to a press release, the city received notice of its seventh year-over-year increase in the real and personal tax digest for 2019 as a result of the revaluation of real property tax assessments performed by the DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s office. Each year, the board of tax assessors is required to review the assessed value for property tax purposes of taxable property in the county.
When the trend of prices on properties that have recently sold in the county indicate there has been an increase in the fair market value of any specific property, the board of tax assessors is required by law to re‐determine the value of such property and adjust the assessment. This is called a reassessment. When a reassessment results in an increase in property values, Georgia law requires the City to advertise a property tax increase even if the millage rate remains the same.
Dunwoody homeowners who filed and qualified for a homestead exemption will pay no more in city taxes than the amount paid in 2009 based on the residential property assessment freeze exemption effective since the city’s inception. This exemption is in addition to the one mill exemption also in place granting homeowners in Dunwoody an effective millage rate of just 1.74 mills. Homeowners in Dunwoody average a 49% exemption in assessed values.
At the anticipated millage rate of 2.74 mills since incorporation, one of the lowest millage rates of any similarly-sized city within the immediate Atlanta metro area, Dunwoody property owners may see an increase or a decrease in their real estate taxes in 2019, depending on whether individual property gained or lost value this year. The City of Dunwoody does not have direct control or influence over the valuations of the tax assessor’s office.
In accordance with state law requirements, the City of Dunwoody will hold three public hearings to receive comment from taxpayers on this subject. The public is invited to attend information meetings at Dunwoody City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road at 8 a.m. June 18 or 8 a.m. July 8.
The City Council will have a third and final public hearing followed by a vote on a tax rate for the current fiscal year at the City Council meeting 6 p.m. on July 8.
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