Albany officials announce 0.04 percent ‘tax increase’

ALBANY — In the complex tax system set up by the state of Georgia, governing bodies in the state have two options when it comes to their end-of-year tax digests: roll back their millage rate to account for any positive change in the digest or announce a tax increase to balance the books.

The fact that tax digests are generally compiled on or after the time when city budgets are due complicates the system.

The city of Albany realized a 0.04 percent tax digest increase in 2016 based on property reassessments conducted by the county’s Board of Tax Assessors, giving the city a $639,000 increase in the value of its digest. And because the city had rolled back its millage rate the last two years — from 9.990 to 9.853 in 2014 and from 9.853 to 9.808 in 2015 — officials went into the budgeting process having decided not to roll back the millage rate this year if there was a digest increase.

Thus, the city is announcing a “tax increase” that will, on a home valued at $100,000, amount to 15 cents. In accordance with state law, the city will hold three public hearings on the matter: one Thursday at 10 a.m. and two on July 25, at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The meetings will be held in Room 100 of the 222 Pine Ave. Government Center.

“We had made the decision going into this process that if we did have an increase in the digest, we would not roll back the millage rate again,” city Finance Director Derrick Brown said. “The final numbers (on the digest) did not come out until around June 20, and, as you know, the city had to pass its budget by June 30. We essentially have to adopt a budget before we know what the tax digest — or our millage rate — is going to be.”

Brown said the tax increase will impact only those with an assessed property value for a home or business that has increased.

“For more than 99 percent of the property owners in the city, this is not going to make a difference,” he said. “They’re going to pay the same thing (in taxes) that they paid last year. It’s just the small percentage of people who have done repair work or added to their homes’ value who will pay an increase.”

Officials with the county also saw a slight increase in the countywide and unincorporated digests, but chose to roll back the millage rate rather than announce a tax increase and hold public hearings to discuss the increase.

“The total increase in our digest was very small compared to the overall digest, but any time there is an increase in the digest — no matter how small — the state says you must either roll back taxes to account for that amount or announce it as a tax increase,” Brown said. “The rollbacks over the last two years resulted in a cumulative decrease in property taxes of $3.68 for a $100,000 home.”