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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes CC - 08/27/2012 - MINS 08 27 12 SCWS 5PM (Migrated from Optiview)l l l Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27,2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 10f6 This summary is provided as a convenience and service to the public, media, and staff It is not the intent to transcribe proceedings verbatim. Any reproduction of this summary must include this notice. Public comments are noted and heard by Council, but not quoted. This document includes limited presentation by Council and invited speakers in summary form. This is an official record of the Milton City Council Meeting proceedings. Official Meetings are audio and video recorded. The Special Called Meeting of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton was held on August 27,2012 at 5:00 PM, Mayor Joe Lockwood presiding. CALL TO ORDER ROLLCALL Councilmembers Present: Councilmember Kunz, Councilmember Lusk, and Councilmember Hewitt. Councilmembers Absent: Councilmember Longoria and Councilmember Large. Councilmember Thurman arrived at 5:09 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA (Agenda Item No. 12-207) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Lusk moved to approve the Meeting Agenda Council member Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (4-0). Councilmember Thurman was absent for the vote. Councilmembers Longoria and Large were absent from the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT (None) CONSENT AGENDA (None) REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS (None) FIRST PRESENTATION (None) SECOND PUBLIC HEARING 1. Approval of an Ordinance of the Mayor and Council of the City of Milton, Georgia, to Fix the Ad Valorem Tax Rate of the City of Milton for Fiscal Year 2012; and for Other Purposes. (Agenda Item No. 12-205) (presented by Stacey lng/is, Finance Director) Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27,2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 2 of6 JStacey Inglis, Finance Director: • This is a requirement ofthe official Code of Georgia Section 48-5-32 that if there is a property tax increase whether it is by millage rate or tax digest increase due to reassessments, we have to advertise and hold three public hearings. • This is the second of three public hearings that we will be holding. • The third one will be held on September 5th at the Regular Council Meeting at 6:00 p.m. where we will also be adopting the millage rate. • Tax bills will be mailed on September 6th with a November 5th due date. • The total tax digest is $2,118,811,920.00 which will result in a tax levy of $9,261,067.00. • That includes a little over $8.7 million in property taxes and a little over $500,000 in motor vehicle taxes. • The property tax increase is 1.14% due to reassessments and the millage rate will remain at 4.731 mills which it has been ever since the beginning of the city. Mayor Lockwood: • Have we received any feedback from any of our citizens about this issue? Stacey Inglis: • No, sir. Mayor Lockwood: J • I just want to make sure our citizens understand that we have not raised the tax rate that this is just a tax digest increase due to reassessments. Mr. Mark Hanley, 14415 Eighteenth Fairway, Milton, GA 30004 • I am here to comment today on the tax increase. • I have heard comments tonight that we are not increasing taxes -we are increasing taxes. • Your action by voting for a flat millage rate is, in fact, increasing taxes. • And that is exactly why the state calls it a tax increase and why there has to be three public hearings. • We are, in fact, raising taxes and in my view, we are doing it in a cowardly manner. • We are allowing bureaucrats down on Pryor Street to do it. • When we separated from Fulton County, we did so with the understanding in the charter that tax increases were supposed to be voted on by a referendum of voters. • Sure, there was a little loophole there that said, except for bureaucrats on Pryor Street. • And, that is in fact what is happening. • I came here two years ago when we had an opportunity to do this and nobody acted on it. • We had a wonderful opportunity to do this because tax valuations went down. • It wouldn't have hurt any kind of revenue for the city. • I even offered at that time that it should be perspective which I am now as well. • This bill I just got from Fulton County, right there it says, CPI Frozen. • Does anybody know what that is? J • That means that if Fulton County raises my assessment then my homestead exemption goes up by a similar amount. • Such that, my net taxable property is neutral. l l l Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27,2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 3 of6 • Now, we used to be on this bill when we were unincorporated Fulton County and we were subject to that provision. • When we separated as a city, we lost that. • In fact, most citizens do not know this but if they look at their tax bills in the first couple of years of incorporation, our bills went up almost 20%. • Now, you can say they went down a little bit in a couple of years but we are going back to where they were when they went up 20%. • This is not what we voted for. • This is not what we intended. • This is not what the spirit of the charter was that we would allow our taxes to go up by assessments. • This is one of the reasons we got out. • Everybody here, and you see it all the time, they talk with some animosity toward Fulton County but I can tell you right now that even Fulton County doesn't do what you are trying to do. • Now, what I think we should do is go back to the CPI Frozen, vote that in, our feeds come from Fulton County so they should have all the data. • And, our tax increases should be done, if we decide to do them, you have to state the case to the citizens and put it to a vote. • And, if we need more revenue, we need to change the millage rate, not assessments. • This is not the way we wanted this government to be run. • We believe in small government up here. • We don't believe in back door tax increases so that we have this unending growth. • Now, you had the opportunity to do that and you can send a big message to the electorate by doing that. • But, if you don't do it, you are also sending a big message. • So, I call on you to put that CPI Frozen language in the Milton bills and I think that is the way we should run it. • Thank you. Councilmember Thurman: • I would like to get staff's take on this because he said that the bills from the City of Milton went up on individual property tax returns and I don't believe that was the case because the millage rate was exactly the same. Fulton County does the assessment. We don't do any of our own assessment, correct? And, we use the same assessment that Fulton County does. Stacey Inglis, Finance Director: • Correct. By law, we have to use the assessments that Fulton County gives us. • We cannot do our own assessments. Councilmember Thurman: • Okay, so how could it be frozen for Fulton County but not for the City of Milton because it is the assessed value that is what is actually frozen, correct? Stacey Inglis, Finance Director: • What he is explaining is that if there were an increase in the assessment of his property, I believe ifl remember correctly, it has been so long since I thought about CPI Frozen that, as he, . Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27,2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 4 of6 mentioned, his homestead exemption would increase by that amount to offset the reassessment J and so, therefore, his taxes wouldn't go up unless there was a millage rate increase. Mayor Lockwood: • Isn't it a three year period that they freeze it? Stacey Inglis: • I believe so. Councilmember Thurman: • So, that would have been the same for the City of Milton and Fulton County. Stacey Inglis: • The City of Milton did not recognize the CPI Frozen exemptions. Councilmember Thurman: • Well, the three year one we had to recognize by state, so this is something different. The three year one was a state law so we didn't have a choice in that matter. Stacey Inglis: • Correct. I think there were, forgive me, like I said I haven't spoken or thought about CPI Frozen J in a while since we first billed, when Mr. Henley brought it up to begin with, it was an exemption that Fulton County gave that they would freeze the assessments on certain bills, I would have to go back and look at it, but then there was also an assessment freezing that the State of Georgia put on there for three years so I think they are two separate issues. Councilmember Thurman: • The State of Georgia we had to recognize because that was a statewide thing, a three year one. Mayor Lockwood: • Based on this conversation, and I am trying to separate, because Mr. Henley legally we are not supposed to discuss back and forth with you, I think the point I see is that obviously if someone's property is assessed at a higher value then it is an increase for them in their taxes and what we are seeing that possibly with Fulton County, at least for a certain period, had frozen that to at least if it was assessed up it made a difference in their homestead exemption to balance it out and we don't recognize the homestead exemption part to balance that out, correct? Stacey Inglis: • Correct. It was merely a Fulton County homestead exemption. Councilmember Thurman: • Because we do have a homestead exemption but it is different from the Fulton County ....J homestead exemption. I know ours are more generous for once you get above a certain age and below a certain income, our homestead exemption is actually much more generous than Fulton County. l Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 5 of6 Mayor Lockwood: • Overall, there are some citizens that are paying less in taxes this year than they were and some are paying a little more just based on the assessment of their home. Councilmember Lusk: • What is the net increase? Stacey Inglis: • 1.14% Councilmember Thurman: • Do we have any idea how much of that 1.14% is from new properties and how much of it is from existing properties? Stacey Inglis: • It is only from existing properties. New properties are not included as a property tax increase. Mayor Lockwood: l • Ifit is okay with Council, I would like to allow our staff to spend a little time to address this issue with us. That doesn't mean we are going to make a decision one way or another but at least get us more information. ZONING AGENDA (None) UNFINISHED BUSINESS (None) NEW BUSINESS (None) MAYOR AND COUNCIL REPORTS Mayor Lockwood: • I would like to ask everyone to look at the Milton Grows Green Hazmat proposal which is located in the budget document you were given earlier. It has a proposed cost of$12,000. I met with Jack London and told him that I would ask you to take a look at the proposal so we could get back with him. STAFF REPORTS (Non~ EXECUTIVE SESSION (None) l Special Called Meeting of the Milton City Council Monday, August 27,2012 at 5:00 p.m. Page 6 of6 J ADJOURNMENT (Agenda Item No. 12-208) Motion and Vote: Councilmember Hewitt moved to adjourn the Special Called Meeting at 5:25 p.m. Councilmember Kunz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously (5-0). Councilmembers Longoria and Large were absent from the meeting. After no further discussion the Special Called Council Meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Date Approved: September 17,2012. Sudie AM Gordon, City Clerk J ]