Decatur, GA — The Decatur City Commission is considering a $39 million budget for fiscal year 2023-2024. The city commission is also considering lowering the millage rate for city taxes for a second year.
The proposed budget is about $7.6 million higher than the revised fiscal year 2022-2023 budget, and most of the increase is related to personnel costs. The revised budget for the Fiscal Year 2022-2023 is $636,500 less than the adopted FY 2022-2023 budget, City Manager Andrea Arnold said during a Decatur City Commission work session on June 7.
City Schools of Decatur sets their own millage rate for school taxes. The Decatur School Board tentatively approved a millage rate of 21 mills. The millage rate remains unchanged compared to Fiscal Year 2023.
The city’s proposed FY 2023-2024 budget was created based on an estimated increase of 5% in the tax digest and proposes no change to the millage rate. However, the tax digest increased by 14.7% and Arnold is recommending the millage rate be decreased by 0.7 to 12.47 mills. The current millage rate is 13.17 mills.
Last year, the city commission lowered the millage rate by about the same amount, 0.75 mills. The millage rate decreased from 13.92 mills to 13.17 mills. In 2022, for a home valued at $500,000, the taxes were about $3,018 with a general homestead exemption.
“For these purposes, we are assuming a home with the same value, with the reduced millage rate, and that will be $2,856.50. That is a reduction of $161.75,” Arnold said. “That is prior to any change with the homestead exemptions. Assuming that the homestead exemptions go into effect, and we go up to $40,000 for the general homestead, that would be an additional $82 in savings.”
Taxpayers will also get a homeowners tax relief grant from the state on their tax bill. This is a homestead exemption valued at $18,000. Homeowners will see an $18,000 exemption on their fall bills for city and school taxes. For city funds, that will be an…
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