Snellville City Council members have failed to reach agreement on the city’s property tax millage rate, creating a dispute that could be unprecedented locally.
Council members were twice deadlocked in a 3-3 vote on Monday night, first failing to approve Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Bender’s proposal of 5.7 mills and then a follow-up motion from council member Kelly Kautz to keep the rate at 5.9 mills.
The impasse comes only a week before Gwinnett County's deadline to add the city's property tax bill to the county's annual bill. Officials say the dissension is reminiscent of a previous time when the Snellville city council was known for political gridlock and legal turmoil.
"I am absolutely disappointed at this stalemate," Councilman Mike Sabbagh said. "Some of it is no more or less than a political ploy."
Gwinnett tax officials have offered to extend the deadline for Snellville to Aug. 2. Snellville officials, attorneys and council members were seeking advice on the ramifications of failing to agree on a millage rate.
On Tuesday, city officials announced they would call a special meeting on Aug. 1 to reconsider the millage rate. Yet there was no immediate indication that council members would be any closer to compromise than they were at Monday night's council meeting.
Amy Henderson, Georgia Municipal Association sp0keswoman, said municipalities must set a millage rate or risk being unable to collect property taxes for the year, and she couldn't recall a city facing a similar situation.
"The fallout is that they may not have revenues," Henderson said. "It provides a really good incentive."
City Manager Russell Treadway recommended increasing the millage rate to 6.19, telling council members that many residents would still see lower tax bills because of lowered property values throughout the city.
Following Treadway's recommendation, Bender made a motion asking the council to approve a rate of 5.7. Bender said council members should give residents a break on taxes instead of sitting on an unusually high surplus of revenues.
"I think we’ve got the opportunity to help the citizens out a little bit and we need to do it," Bender said.
Councilmen Tod Warner and Tom Witts supported Bender's motion while Kautz, Sabbagh and Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer voted against it. Kautz followed with a motion to keep the rate at 5.9 mills, with the vote unchanged.
Kautz has accused Bender of political posturing in the midst of her mayoral campaign and later read from Bender's Facebook page and other campaign materials to prove her point.
"Last year she didn’t care about cutting the budget," said Kautz, noting that lowering the rate to 5.7 would create a budget deficit of about $128,000. "This year she wants to cut it to a rate that can’t support the budget."
Bender emphatically denied that accusation, saying, "When I’ve been on dais, I've not ever mentioned my campaign or my hope to become the mayor. But if she wants to read my political materials up there every other meeting, I appreciate that."
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