Tallulah Falls locks in 6.473-mill property-tax rate below rollback benchmark

Tallulah Falls Town Council unanimously approved resolutions Oct. 12, 2023, setting a 6.473-mill property-tax rate for town properties in Habersham and Rabun counties. The action finalized a rate of $6.473 per $1,000 of assessed value after the town had publicly described it as lower than its 6.528-mill rollback rate.

The millage decision directly affects the tax calculation on taxable property and the revenue available for the town’s 2024 budget. Town Clerk said the adopted rate was expected to bring revenue within $5,000 of that budget, making the rate a close match to the town’s stated spending plan rather than an increase above the rollback benchmark.

The council’s final vote followed a Sept. 14, 2023, tax-and-rate notice stating that it intended to adopt a 6.473-mill rate in Rabun County. That notice put the proposed figure alongside a 6.528-mill rollback rate and said the lower proposed rate would not constitute a tax increase. At the Oct. 12 meeting, the council considered resolutions covering both counties; a motion to approve them was seconded and passed unanimously.

For property owners, the practical question is how the millage rate applies to assessed value and any available relief. The clerk said the state Property Tax Relief Grant could reduce eligible homestead assessed values by as much as $18,000, which would amount to a credit of up to $116.51 at the 6.473-mill rate. The council, meanwhile, adopted the rate unanimously; the meeting record does not describe separate public positions or objections.

The rate is no longer merely proposed: council approved the two rate resolutions on Oct. 12. The earlier 6.528-mill figure was identified by the town as the rollback rate, while the approved 6.473-mill figure was lower. The grant-related savings remain contingent on a homeowner’s eligibility and assessed value; the record does not establish how many owners received the credit or the town’s final tax collections.

No subsequent council action or later official record is identified after the Oct. 12 approval. What remains unresolved in the documented record is how the adopted rate performed against the 2024 budget and how the state relief grant affected individual eligible homesteads.