Tax-increase notice clashes with Sandy Springs’ rollback worksheet

Sandy Springs proposes keeping its city property-tax rate at 4.731 mills, unchanged from last year. But residents heading to the first public hearing Oct. 20 will find official documents pointing in opposite directions on whether that rate is above the state’s rollback benchmark.⁠[1][2]

The city’s Oct. 7 notice advertises a tax increase of “.2635 percentage” over rollback. The staff memo in the council packet likewise describes a 0.26% increase after the rollback calculation.⁠[1][2]

The attached calculation sheet says otherwise. It puts the rollback benchmark at the equivalent of 4.7435 mills—higher than the proposed 4.731 mills—and displays “Percentage Tax Increase” as -0.26301%. On that worksheet, the proposed rate is below rollback, not above it.⁠[1]

Rollback is a reassessment-adjusted revenue benchmark, not simply last year’s rate. The rate-setting materials do not reconcile the conflicting positive and negative figures. The worksheet compares rates; it does not calculate an individual homeowner’s bill.⁠[1][2]

The packet fills two gaps in our earlier tax-hearing coverage: the proposed rate and the planned decision date. Staff says council will set the rate Nov. 3 at 6 p.m., after the final hearing. The ordinance in the packet remains a draft, with its passage date blank.⁠[1]

The Oct. 20 hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Studio Theatre at City Hall, 1 Galambos Way. Two more hearings are scheduled at City Hall Nov. 3, at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.⁠[1][2]